On Wednesday night, Liverpool will face Marco Silva’s team in the League Cup semi-final first leg at Anfield, with both teams just 180 minutes away from Wembley. David Coote will be the match referee, despite angering Liverpool supporters last month as the VAR in the top-of-the-table clash with Arsenal. In that game, both the on-pitch referee and VAR failed to award Liverpool a penalty for a clear handball by Martin Odegaard. Coote has a history of controversy involving Liverpool, such as allowing Jordan Pickford’s season-ending challenge on Virgil van Dijk to go unpunished in the Merseyside derby in 2020. The return leg will take place at Craven Cottage, where the hosts will be aiming to reach the final of the competition for the first time ever. Timothy Wood and Wade Smith will assist from the touchlines, while Tim Robinson will be the fourth official. Liverpool fans will have little patience for Coote if he makes any early mistakes.
Martin Odegaard handball VAR appointed referee for Liverpool crucial match
There tends to be some sort of history with most officials assigned to Liverpool games these days, but the referee for our clash with Fulham has made the headlines very recently.
