Assistant referee benched after Robertson elbow incident
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The referee who had quite the bizarre encounter with a premier league player was benched after scrutiny over the issue.
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Lierpool's Andy Robertson furious after an incident involving the assistant referee, April 10, 2023 (AP)
Until the Football Association looks into whether assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis elbowed Andrew Robertson of Liverpool, the former will not be involved in any games.
The unusual occurrence took place right after halftime during Sunday's thrilling 2-2 tie between Liverpool and Premier League leaders Arsenal at Anfield.
Robertson appeared to confront Hatzidakis on the pitch, reaching out for his arm before the official replied by thrusting his elbow in the direction of the Liverpool left-back.
While Hatzidakis was being escorted away by his teammates, Robertson gestured that he had been struck by the Greek player. Robertson later received a yellow card for the odd incident.
Hatzidakis will be benched pending the end of the FA's investigation into his involvement in the dispute.
A statement from the Premier League referees' body the PGMOL read: "PGMOL will not be appointing Constantine Hatzidakis to fixtures in any of the competitions it serves whilst the FA (Football Association) investigates the incident involving the assistant referee and Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson at Anfield."
Keith Hackett, formerly head of the PGMOL, told BBC Radio Five Live: "Ultimately, if he is found guilty of this, his career is in jeopardy."
"I was trying to find an excuse as to why he did it and I came up with was he in fear? He shouldn't be, because he's in a protected environment with plenty of security," he argued.
However, Hackett explained, he reacted "in a way that he shouldn't have reacted at the end of the day and here we are talking about a match official and not a decision, but an action by a match official -- and he's clearly lost his composure."
