No further action will be taken against assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis following an incident involving Liverpool’s Andy Robertson, the Football Association has said.
Hatzidakis had been stood down while an investigation was held after Sunday’s match between Liverpool and Arsenal.
He made contact with Robertson’s chin after the player approached him at the end of the first half at Anfield.
“I look forward to returning to officiating matches,” Hatzidakis said.
“I fully assisted the FA with their investigation and have discussed the matter directly with Andy Robertson during an open and positive conversation,” the match official added.
“It was certainly not my intention to make any contact with Andy as I pulled my arm away from him and for that I have apologised.”
The FA said it had reached its decision after thoroughly reviewing all of the evidence.
“Our comprehensive process involved reviewing detailed statements from Liverpool and PGMOL, as well as multiple angles of video footage, in relation to both the incident and its surrounding circumstances,” an FA statement said.
Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett told BBC Radio 5 Live that Hatzidakis’ career “could be in jeopardy” if found guilty, after the official appeared to elbow Robertson.
However, Martin Cassidy, the chief executive officer of Ref Support UK, told BBC Sport he believed Hatzidakis had been punished enough.
The incident came after Fulham striker Alexsandar Mitrovic was given an eight-game ban for pushing a referee during a match against Manchester United.
Source – BBC Sport
Leave a Reply