Why Chris Kavanagh was allowed to referee Liverpool vs Man City despite being born in Greater Manchester
Chris Kavanagh was eligible to referee Sunday's Premier League clash between Liverpool and Manchester City because his allegiance to non-league Droylsden posed no conflict of interest.
It was an eventful afternoon for Kavanagh, who was criticised by plenty of onlookers - including Andoni Iraola and Jamie Carragher - for his decision to dismiss Ryan Gravenberch.
Iraola said he had "no idea" why Kavanagh gave the Liverpool midfielder a yellow card for what was an innocuous challenge on Elliot Anderson. "The first one is not a yellow," he said after the game. The Dutchman was then handed a second yellow after fouling Jeremy Doku, a decision that flipped the game on its head. In fact, Erling Haaland opened the scoring just three minutes later before goals from Doku and Rayan Cherki made it 3-0.
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Why Chris Kavanagh was allowed to referee Liverpool vs Man City
Following his decision to dismiss Gravenberch, Kavanagh came under criticism from some frustrated Liverpool supporters, with some bringing up the fact he was born in Greater Manchester.
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However, the 41-year-old was allowed to officiate Liverpool's clash against City as he supports Droylsden FC, a team that competes in the North West Counties League Premier Division.
Match officials, video assistant referees and assistant video assistant referees are only eligible to officiate games that do not involve a club for which they have a conflict of interest.
In fact, they must submit a declaration of interests form before every season, according to the PGMOL appointments policy, which includes officials having to declare the club they support before the start of each season.
The policy also states officials cannot be involved in a match that directly involves a club "which has a strong association with a club for which an interest has been declared".
Ultimately, it's then up to the PGMOL to decide if a club has a strong association with that other club, therefore Kavanagh's allegiance to Droylsden was deemed to pose no conflict of interest ahead of the game between Liverpool and City.
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Jamie Carragher criticises Chris Kavanagh's call to dismiss Ryan Gravenberch
One of the big talking points from Sunday's game at Anfield was Kavanagh's decision to brandish a second yellow card to Gravenberch.
Speaking in his post-match assessment of the game, Sky Sports pundit Jame Carragher described it as a "shocking decision".
"It's such a poor decision by the referee," he said. "The thing that frustrates me is that he wasn't going to give a yellow card. He only gives it when he thinks Anderson is hurt."
Carragher added: "That has nothing to do with whether a foul should or should not be a yellow card. It's barely a foul. It's a shocking decision."
Topics: Liverpool, Man City, Premier League, Ryan Gravenberch
Jack Kenmare