Michael Salisbury, the VAR official who oversaw Chelsea's controversial 2-0 victory against Fulham, has been removed from his duties for the high-profile Liverpool-Arsenal match. John Brooks will replace Salisbury as VAR for the game at Anfield. The Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL) acknowledged that an error occurred when Fulham's opening goal was disallowed during the Chelsea game.

During the Chelsea-Fulham match, Josh King, a young Fulham midfielder, had a goal disallowed after a VAR review. The on-field referee, Robert Jones, was instructed by Salisbury, the VAR official, to review a potential foul by Rodrigo Muniz on Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah in the build-up to the goal. Jones then ruled that Muniz had made a "careless challenge" and disallowed the goal.

The decision to disallow the goal sparked considerable controversy. Many observers felt that the incident did not meet the threshold for VAR intervention, which requires a "clear and obvious error" from the on-field referee. Fulham manager Marco Silva was furious with the decision. He stated that he was "shocked" by the decision and found it "unbelievable" that the goal was disallowed.

PGMOL chief Howard Webb contacted Fulham following the incident. The PGMOL has since acknowledged that Salisbury's intervention was not in line with the high bar for VAR intervention. This acknowledgment led to Salisbury being replaced by John Brooks for the Liverpool-Arsenal game.

The decision to remove Salisbury from the Liverpool-Arsenal match highlights the increasing scrutiny on VAR officials and the impact of their decisions on the outcome of games. The incident has also reignited the debate about the use of VAR in football and whether it is being applied consistently and fairly. Former Fulham midfielder and Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy described the decision to disallow Fulham's goal as the worst VAR intervention he has ever seen.