Under-fire referee Chris Kavanagh dropped from upcoming Premier League games
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Lucas Digne of Aston Villa is shown a yellow card by referee Chris Kavanagh during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Aston Villa and Newcastle United (Getty)
Referee Chris Kavanagh has been omitted from this weekend's Premier League appointments following controversial decisions during last Saturday's FA Cup match between Aston Villa and Newcastle.
Kavanagh and his assistants faced significant criticism for errors, including failing to identify Tammy Abraham as offside for Villa's opening goal and not punishing a shin-high challenge by Lucas Digne.
Another contentious decision involved awarding a free-kick for a handball by Digne, despite the incident clearly occurring inside the penalty area, with no VAR available for that round of the FA Cup.
While assistant Gary Beswick has been named for another match, Kavanagh and Nick Greenhalgh do not feature in any appointments, with selections based on post-match performance assessments.
Wayne Rooney suggested the errors indicated an over-reliance on VAR by officials, though former referee Graham Scott disagreed, stating officials do not hide behind the technology.
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