The Premier League has not appointed VAR official Lee Mason for a game this weekend after he made a "significant error" in Arsenal's draw with Brentford.
Leaders Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw in a London derby on Saturday, but Ivan Toney's equaliser should not have been allowed to stand.
Toney headed in from close range after Christian Norgaard nudged the ball across the face of goal, but the latter had been offside in the build-up.
The goal went to a VAR check for a separate incident instead, with Mason – in charge of the technology for the game – not spotting Norgaard strayed just offside.
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body responsible for referees in English football, subsequently acknowledged Arsenal and Brighton and Hove Albion were both victims of "significant" errors on Saturday.
Mason was not named on the Premier League's list of match officials for the weekend.
The incident that impacted Brighton on the same day involved a would-be winning goal against Crystal Palace being disallowed incorrectly by VAR John Brooks.
Brooks was removed as the VAR for Monday's Merseyside derby and Wednesday's game between Arsenal and Manchester City, though he will be back as the fourth official for the Gunners' trip to Aston Villa on Saturday.
Toronto FC v Chicago Fire: Johnson excited to stay on with Reds
Sean Johnson is excited to extend his stay with Toronto FC, after penning a new contract with the club.
The goalkeeper, who has been included in the United States’ squad for the Copa America, joined Toronto ahead of the 2023 season from New York City FC.
While last season was a disappointment for the Reds, Toronto are sixth in the Eastern Conference, with 24 points from their 17 games so far in 2024.
Johnson has kept four clean sheets in 12 MLS appearances, and his good form has been rewarded with a deal that will keep him with Toronto until the end of the 2026 campaign.
Ahead of Toronto’s meeting with the Chicago Fire, Johnson told club media: “I am excited to extend my time in Toronto – the fans have welcomed me with open arms since arriving.
“TFC has a rich history of success and I’m committed to giving everything to add some more special moments for the club and the city.”
“We are happy to announce that Sean has signed an extension with Toronto as he has been an integral part of our evolution both on and off the field,” said Toronto general manager Jason Hernandez.
“Sean will continue to provide us with the consistency and stability we will need in our group as we continue to push towards reaching our full potential. His leadership has been a fundamental aspect of our team’s identity, and we look forward to Sean helping our club achieve its goals in 2024 and beyond.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto FC – Federico Bernardeschi
Bernardeschi had a goal and an assist in Toronto’s draw with D.C. on June 1, taking his total to 11 goal contributions (seven goals, four assists) this season, one more than any Toronto player recorded during the 2023 campaign.
Chicago Fire – Hugo Cuypers
Cuypers scored one of the Fire’s two goals in their win over the Galaxy and has been involved in a goal in three straight MLS appearances. No player has been involved in a goal in four straight games for the Fire since Robert Beric in September-October 2020 (five straight).
MATCH PREDICTION: TORONTO WIN
Chicago snapped a nine-match winless run with a 2-1 home victory over the LA Galaxy on June 1. It was the Fire’s first multi-goal performance since their previous win, a 2-1 victory over Houston on April 6.
Toronto have scored 33 goals in its last 11 matches in all competitions (W6 D2 L3). The Reds had totalled 32 goals in their previous 43 matches dating back to March 2023.
The Reds are unbeaten in 12 straight home matches against the Fire (W7 D5) with Chicago’s last win in Toronto coming in 2012. This is Toronto’s longest home unbeaten run against any opponent in their MLS history.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto FC – 44.5%
Chicago Fire – 28.7%
Draw – 26.8%
Euro 2024 data dive: Rampant Germany claim biggest European Championships win
Scotland were no match for Germany as the rampant Euro 2024 hosts made a dream start to the tournament on Friday.
Florian Wirtz got the ball rolling in the 10th minute, becoming the youngest scorer of an opening goal at the European Championships in the tournament's history.
The excellent Jamal Musiala soon made it 2-0, rifling home after he was set up by Kai Havertz inside the area.
In Wirtz (21 years, 42 days) and Musiala (21 years, 109 days), Germany became the first team in European Championship history to have two players aged 21 or younger score in the same match.
Havertz turned scorer when he slotted in from the penalty spot before half-time, with Scotland defender Ryan Porteous seeing red for a lunge on Ilkay Gundogan, after a VAR review.
Porteous became the second Scottish player sent off at a major tournament, after Craig Burley in the 1998 World Cup against Morocco.
It is the first time a player has been sent off in the opening game of the Euros since 2012, when both Sokratis (Greece) and Wojciech Szczesny (Poland) were dismissed in a 1-1 draw.
Havertz's successfully converted spot-kick also ensured Germany went in at half-time 3-0 up – it is just the third time in European Championship history a team has scored three goals in the first half of a game, along with France vs Belgium in 1984 (3-0 at half-time) and France vs Iceland in 2016 (4-0 at half-time).
Germany made their numerical advantage count to go on and secure the biggest win by a host nation in their opening match at a European Championship tournament, and their biggest victory ever at the Euros, with an own goal from Antonio Rudiger the only negative.
Indeed, that own goal was kind to Scotland, who had only one shot, which they failed to get on target, and mustered an xG of only 0.01, in comparison to Germany's 2.17.
It marks the first time Scotland have failed to have a shot on target in a major tournament match since 1992, when they faced the Netherlands in the Euros.
Steve Clarke's team put in a sorry performance, and must now pick themselves up to face Switzerland. They will go into that match on Wednesday on the back of suffering their heaviest defeat at a major tournament since they lost 7-0 to Uruguay at the 1954 World Cup.
Germany, meanwhile, already have one foot in the knockouts, and could get the job done by beating Hungary.
Musiala really was sensational, completing five of his eight dribble attempts while also having six touches in the opponent's box – four more than Scotland managed altogether.
And finally, this match was the first match in European Championship history to see a red card, a penalty scored and an own goal scored.
Euro 2024 has started in style, even if Scotland fans will be in a hurry to forget this result.
Nagelsmann hails Germany for handling pressure, admits surprise at Scotland's slow start
Julian Nagelsmann hailed his Germany players for the way they handled the pressure of being Euro 2024 hosts in their 5-1 win over Scotland, adding he was surprised by the lack of aggression on show from Steve Clarke's men.
Germany recorded the biggest opening-game win at a European Championship, with Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Niclas Fullkrug and Emre Can scoring.
The result made Nagelsmann just the second coach to win his first Euros game by four or more goals, after Sweden's Lars Lagerback in 2004 (5-0 versus Bulgaria).
It was also Germany's biggest victory at the Euros, and the first time Scotland had conceded five or more goals in a competitive game since they were trounced 6-0 by the Netherlands in a Euro 2004 qualifier 21 years ago.
Germany endured a troubled build-up to their home tournament, with Nagelsmann only having eight games to prepare after Hansi Flick was sacked last year.
He believes they did an excellent job of handling the pressure that comes with a home opener, telling ITV Sport: "I'm happy, I'm satisfied.
"In the first game as the home country… we looked back at the first games of the last tournaments and there can be a kind of pressure.
"Especially in the first 20 minutes, we were brilliant, we had great ball possession and great counter-pressing.
"I was happy with the performance and we stayed focused for the whole game.
"We conceded one goal, but in the end it's okay. Our players were complaining about conceding that goal, which is a good sign when we were already four goals in the lead."
Scotland did not attempt a single shot on target and failed to register an effort of any kind until Scott McKenna forced an own goal off Antonio Rudiger in the 87th minute.
Nagelsmann admits he was expecting more from Clarke's team, who found themselves three goals and a man down by half-time as Ryan Porteous was sent off for a horror challenge on Ilkay Gundogan.
"I was kind of surprised that Scotland weren't that aggressive in the first 20 minutes," Nagelsmann said.
"I think they were surprised by our possession, which was really concentrated. They started the game very well and made one mistake in the first 15 minutes.
"Then they were kind of surprised, kind of afraid. They felt we had players in the offensive row that could score goals so they defended low.
"They didn't make the high pressure like they sometimes did in the qualifiers. I think the first 20 minutes were the key to the game."
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