Kavanagh stood down after errors in Villa's defeat by Newcastle

Chris Kavanagh will not officiate in the next round of Premier League fixtures after a series of high‑profile errors during the FA Cup tie between Aston Villa and Newcastle on Saturday. He has been stood down by Professional Game Match Officials, alongside one of his two assistants at Villa Park, Nick Greenhalgh.

The second assistant, Gary Beswick, will run the line at Nottingham Forest v Liverpool on Sunday. The trio came under intense scrutiny after Newcastle’s 3-1 victory, with three apparent errors visible to those watching at home: Tammy Abraham should have been ruled offside for Villa’s opening goal; a high tackle by Lucas Digne on Jacob Murphy was not adjudged to be reckless; and Digne clearly handled inside the Villa penalty area, only for Kavanagh to award a free-kick outside the box instead of a penalty.

The performance has prompted a new round of debate about the value of video assistant refereeing, since the FA Cup uses VAR only from the fifth round.

chris kavanagh, nick greenhalgh, gary beswick, aston villa, newcastle, tammy abraham, lucas digne, jacob murphy, var, offside