Bournemouth vs Liverpool referee in new controversy after Steve Cooper spoke in anger

Referee John Brooks will referee Liverpool’s trip to Bournemouth this weekend despite further scrutiny from Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper.

The Reds travel to the south coast to take on Bournemouth on Saturday lunchtime and the man in the middle has drawn a lot of criticism in recent weeks.

Cooper urged PGMOL to review the official’s performance in Forest’s contentious 2-2 home game against Everton on Sunday, saying: “I’m disappointed with the referee, I’ll be honest.”

“He had too much of an impact on the game and there were defining moments because of the performance,” he told the Nottingham Post.

Cooper added: “It can’t happen at this level. “It’s also not good for the referee, because he will be disappointed and will probably be taken into consideration. It was a real shame that things like that affect games.

He shines a spotlight on the officer, with the Telegraph reporting that he took Forest to file an official complaint about the standard of umpires.

This comes just three weeks after he was forced to step down following a VAR error which cost Brighton a vital goal on their journey to Crystal Palace.
Brooks was removed from any VAR involvement for two matches, including the Merseyside derby, and the decision to replace him came hours before kick-off.

The mistake at Selhurst Park even prompted PGMOL chief Howard Webb to call a meeting over the weekend to discuss the decision and a number of other mistakes.

Liverpool will be looking to extend their impressive form at Dean Court on Saturday after Sunday’s 7-0 Manchester United win saw them win four of their last five in the league and five consecutive clean sheets.
Brooks has never refereed a first-team game for Liverpool, although he was in charge of the FA Youth Cup final defeat by Aston Villa in 2021.

He has taken charge of 10 Premier League games this season, including four in the Championship, four in the Carabao Cup and two in the FA Cup, with two red cards and nine penalties in 20 games.

Do you thing Liverpool will be able to reproduce the same performance they had with Manchester United?

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