Referees association PGMOL have explained that Constantine Hatzidakis will be taken off refereeing duties for the forseeable future after he appeared to throw an elbow at Andy Robertson during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday.
Hatzidakis was on duty at Anfield as fourth official when the two sides met in the Premier League, and appeared to be drawn into an altercation with the Reds left-back as the players and officials walked off the pitch at half time, an incident for which Robertson was booked.
And his elbow appeared to be sent into Robertson’s face, though it is unclear whether he contests this version of events.
Assistant Constantine Hatzidakis is going to be in trouble for this. Clearly raises his elbow after an altercation with Andy Robertson.
🎥 via @SkySportsPL pic.twitter.com/NrqXSYHviI
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) April 9, 2023
He will not be on duty any time soon, however.
“PGMOL will not be appointing Constantine Hatzidakis to fixtures in any of the competitions it serves whilst The FA investigates the incident involving the assistant referee and Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson at Anfield”, an official statement revealed.
It is the second time that the referees association have been forced into the public eye this weekend, with Howard Webb already having to issue an apology for VAR’s failure to award Brighton a penalty against Tottenham when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg brought down Mitoma with the score at 1-1.
Ex-referee Mark Halsey has called for the linesman to receive an eight match ban if found guilty, likening it to the incident which saw Aleksandr Mitrovic banned for the same length of time.
‘I have heard people say this is the end of the linesman’s career, but, just like Aleksandar Mitrovic, it is his full-time job”, he wrote.
‘However, if he is proven guilty and did intentionally use his elbow then he will face the same consequences as the Fulham frontman.”
