Assistant referee stood down as PGMOL looks into Robertson ‘elbow’ incident

The assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis will not officiate in any matches while he is being investigated for an apparent elbow on Liverpool’s Andy Robertson.

The incident occurred just after the half-time whistle had been blown during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday, with Hatzidakis apparently reacting after being confronted by Robertson.

A statement from the Premier League referees’ body, the PGMOL, read: “PGMOL will not be appointing Constantine Hatzidakis to fixtures in any of the competitions it serves while the Football Association investigates the incident involving the assistant referee and Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson at Anfield.”

Sky Sports cameras zooming in on the confrontation showed Hatzidakis seemingly throwing up his arm and making contact with Robertson, who gesticulated that he had been hit by the official. An irate Robertson was led away by team-mates but while he received a yellow card in the aftermath, it is the actions of Hatzidakis that will now come under further scrutiny.

Keith Hackett, the former head of the PGMOL, told BBC Radio Five Live: “Ultimately, if he is found guilty of this, his career is in jeopardy. “I was trying to find an excuse as to why he did it and I came up with: was he in fear? He shouldn’t be, because he’s in a protected environment with plenty of security.

“But he reacted in a way that he shouldn’t have reacted at the end of the day and here we are talking about a match official and not a decision, but an action by a match official – and he’s clearly lost his composure.”

The Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, whose side are fighting Arsenal for the title, did not see the incident but said it would be “weird” if it happened in the way some have