PGMOL has confirmed that assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis has not been appointed to any of the matches as the FA investigates his alleged elbow on Andy Robertson during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal.
A PGMOL statement read: “PGMOL will not appoint Constantine Hatzidakis to any of the competitions he serves while the FA investigates the incident involving assistant referee and Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson at Anfield.”
Liverpool defender Robertson approached Hatzidakis as players were leaving the pitch for half time during Sunday’s game and appeared to place his hand on the assistant referee, before Hatzidakis appeared to raise his arm towards Robertson.
Robertson was immediately enraged and appeared to claim that the linesman had elbowed him.
The Liverpool players crowded referee Paul Tierney to raise the issue before finally leaving the tunnel.
Did the assistant referee elbow Andy Robertson?! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/CZQbDDDX0I
– Sky Sports Premier League (SkySportsPL) April 9, 2023
Sky Sports broadcast a replay of the event showing the incident from several angles after it was not initially shown on the normal match feed.
Robertson’s reaction was immediate as Hatzidakis kept running back towards his fellow officials before everyone involved left the field.
Hatzidakis is an experienced match official and has been part of the refereeing teams for Premier League, Champions League and Europa League matches for several years.
Referee Paul Tierney had the authority to relieve Hatzidakis of his duties after the alleged incident.
Law 6 of the IFAB’s Laws of the Game states that “the referee can relieve the other match official of his duties for ‘undue interference or improper behaviour'”.
Had Tierney seen the first-half incident and deemed it “unwarranted interference or improper conduct”, the FIFA laws would have supported any move to remove Hatzidakis from the match.
(Photo: Sky Sports)
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