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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Thomas Bristow

VAR official dropped after Giovani Lo Celso error in Chelsea vs Spurs clash

The official responsible for letting Giovani Lo Celso escape a red card for his nasty challenge on Cesar Azpilicueta will not be in action this weekend.

Referee David Coote has not been named to officiate a game, appear as an assistant nor take part in VAR duty.

The official had a nightmare during the Chelsea vs Spurs fixture on Saturday and should have told Michael Oliver to dismiss Lo Celso.

The 23-year-old appeared to stamp on Azpilicueta's leg, with the Spaniard lucky to escape serious injury.

Oliver missed the incident and it was subsequently reviewed by VAR. The replays made the challenge look worse on each occasion but Coote decided that it was not a red card.

Giovani Lo Celso produced a horrendous challenge on Cesar Azpilicueta. (Action Images via Reuters)

Lo Celso continued playing and was not even cautioned for the challenge.

The PGMOL released a statement shortly explaining Coote's decision.

It read: "Not a clear and obvious error and there was nowhere else for Lo Celso to put his foot."

This was immediately backtracked as BT Sport were told by the refereeing body only moments later that human error had been made in the decision.

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