Mark Halsey relegated after failing to notice freak tackle

Mark Halsey

Following his failure to notice and react to the brutal challenge by Wigan’s Callum McManaman on Newcastle’s Massadio Haidara, referee Mark Halsey has been relegated from the Premier League to League One.

He will be officiating the match between Coventry and Doncaster on Friday, following which he will be acting as the fourth official at the Emirates, when Arsenal play host to Reading on Saturday.

Halsey claimed that his view was blocked and couldn’t see the brutal and highly dangerous tackle, and hence failed to penalize the player. He also told the FA that he would have acted along the given guidelines if he had had a clean view.

McManaman, the culprit, also escaped retrospective punishment, as the assistant referee is believed to have seen the incident and chosen not to award a foul.