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Ex-Premier League official emphatically settles Brentford-Liverpool VAR debate

Ex-Premier League official Darren Cann has emphatically settled the Brentford-Liverpool VAR debate after Yehor Yarmoliuk was shown a red card for a 'headbutt' on Jeremy Jacquet

Referee John Brooks gestures as Kristoffer Ajer and Vitaly Janelt of Brentford react.
Referee John Brooks gestures as Kristoffer Ajer and Vitaly Janelt of Brentford react.

Yehor Yarmoliuk's red card was correct, with the 22-year-old sent off against Liverpool on Saturday in a game-defining moment in the clash at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Just before half-time, Yarmoliuk was adjudged to have headbutted Liverpool center-back Jeremy Jacquet, leading the Reds to have a major advantage for the remainder of the contest.

But while it looked harsh to come, the former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann believes that it was the right call. After reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor, John Brooks produced a red card.

"Another correct VAR intervention from Darren England (the VAR official)," Cann told BBC Match of the Day. "Yarmoliuk made a clear movement with his head and made contact with Jacquet.

"The resulting red card was inevitable for an act of violent conduct. As an aside, a penalty could not be awarded as the ball was not in play, so the game correctly restarted with the original corner kick."

Brentford boss Keith Andrews didn't have too many complaints about either the Yarmoliuk sending off or the second yellow for German midfielder Vitaly Janelt.

Liverpool's French defender #05 Jeremy Jacquet reacts having been fouled by Brentford's Ukrainian midfielder #06 Yehor Yarmolyuk, who was subsequently sent off during the English Premier League football match between Brentford and Liverpool at the Gtech Community Stadium in London on October 17, 2026. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /
Jeremy Jacquet on the floor after being headbutted by Yehor Yarmolyuk in Liverpool's win at Brentford

The Bees ended the game with nine men and played the majority of the game with 10, with Liverpool turning around a single-goal deficit thanks to goals from Victor Munoz and Alexander Isak.

"He’s clearly disappointed," Andrews admitted. "He’s an amazing young man. We need to remember he is young and someone we love working with and want to try and develop.

"We need to look at ourselves first — we don’t tend to look at what part they play in the incident. I think they were cute and clever — Yarmo needs to do better, and I can understand why that was a red.

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"I’ve seen both of Vitaly’s yellows back — I like our players playing with emotion and I like us to play on the edge and when you do that and you feel that some decisions aren’t fair, that can be difficult for the players.

"Our players aren’t robots. We have a spirit in our team that’s really special. Could there have been a bit more consistency? Perhaps.

"If you look at where Jacquet is walking, he’s not looking at the ball. He’s walking into Yarmo. But we focus on us and our actions."

Liverpool.com says: It was a crucial moment in the game. Andoni Iraola's side wouldn't have had the same amount of space without that call, and it proved decisive. More important for the Reds is working out why they weren't in more control at the end.

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