# Darren England > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Darren_England > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Darren_England.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darren_England > Source revision: 1353838697 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}} {{Short description|English football referee (born 1985)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}} {{Infobox football official | fullname=Darren England | image = Fulham v Everton 10052025 (10) (Darren England).jpg | caption = England in 2025 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1985|12|23|df=y}} | otheroccupation = | years1 = ?–2015 | league1 = [Football Conference](/source/National_League_(English_football)) | role1 = [Referee](/source/Referee_(association_football)) | years2 = 2015–2020 | league2 = [The Football League](/source/The_Football_League) | role2 = Referee | years3 = 2020– | league3 = [Premier League](/source/Premier_League) | role3 = Referee | internationalyears1 = 2022– | confederation1 = [FIFA listed](/source/FIFA_International_Referees_List) | internationalrole1 = Referee }} '''Darren England''' (born 23 December 1985) is a [Premier League](/source/Premier_League) [football referee](/source/referee_(association_football)), who was promoted in August 2020.{{cite web |last1=Ralston |first1=William |title=The impossible job: inside the world of Premier League referees |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/21/inside-world-premier-league-football-referees-pgmol-howard-webb-andre-marriner-darren-england |website=The Guardian |access-date=22 March 2023 |date=21 March 2023}} In December 2021, the [PGMOL](/source/Professional_Game_Match_Officials_Limited) announced that England had been added to the 2022 FIFA List of International Match Officials. {{cite web|url=https://www.premierleague.com/news/1753412|title=Referees England and Jones promoted to Select Group 1}}{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/fa_pgmol/status/1474073608947445763|title=PGMOL}} Prior to this, England had been a Select Group 2 referee since 2017, and prior to this, he had been a Premier League [assistant referee](/source/assistant_referee_(association_football)) between 2012 and 2015. == Career == He refereed the League Two Play-Off Final in 2017 between Blackpool v Exeter City and then was promoted to the [Select Group 2](/source/Select_Group) list.{{Cite web|url=https://www.efl.com/clubs-and-competitions/match-officials/select-group-two-officials/select-group-2-match-officials/referee-profiles-201920/darren-england/|title=Darren England – Select Group 2 Match Officials – EFL Official Website|website=www.efl.com|access-date=13 February 2020}} On 30 September 2023, England was on [VAR](/source/Video_assistant_referee) duty for a Premier League match between [Tottenham Hotspur](/source/Tottenham_Hotspur_F.C.) and [Liverpool](/source/Liverpool_F.C.), a game which resulted in a 2–1 victory for Spurs. [Luis Diaz](/source/Luis_D%C3%ADaz_(footballer%2C_born_1997)) had a goal ruled out for [offside](/source/Offside_(association_football)) by the [linesman](/source/Linesman_(association_football)) – the decision was not questioned by England or any of his colleagues in VAR despite an "unusually quick decision" with no lines being drawn.{{Cite news |title='Unfair' and 'crazy decisions' anger Klopp in Spurs loss |language=en-GB |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66973987 |access-date=2023-09-30}} After the match, PGMOL released a statement admitting that this was a "significant human error" and that "VAR failed to intervene".{{Cite news |title=PGMOL admit 'significant human error' in Spurs win over Liverpool |language=en-GB |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66973987 |access-date=2023-09-30}}{{Cite web |date=30 September 2023 |title=PGMOL admits VAR offside error to disallow Diaz goal |url=https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/38529208/pgmol-admits-var-offside-error-disallow-diaz-goal?platform=amp |access-date=1 October 2023 |website=ESPN}} England, along with assistant VAR Dan Cook, were subsequently dropped for their following Premier League fixtures.{{Cite news |last=Dean |first=Sam |date=2023-10-01 |title=Referees stood down for Liverpool goal error were working in UAE 48 hours before Tottenham match |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/10/01/var-referees-liverpool-spurs-luis-diaz-offside-working-uae/ |access-date=2023-10-01 |issn=0307-1235}} Liverpool later released a statement acknowledging PGMOL's admission of failure, stating that it was "unsatisfactory that sufficient time was not afforded to allow the correct decision to be made and that there was no subsequent intervention", and that they will "explore a range of options [...] given the clear need for escalation and resolution."{{Cite web |title=Liverpool FC statement – Liverpool FC |url=https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/liverpool-fc-statement-5 |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=www.liverpoolfc.com |language=en}} On 10 May 2026, during [Arsenal](/source/Arsenal_F.C.)'s 1–0 away victory over [West Ham United](/source/West_Ham_United_F.C.), VAR official England assisted referee [Chris Kavanagh](/source/Chris_Kavanagh_(referee)) in reviewing a stoppage-time incident involving a challenge on Arsenal goalkeeper [David Raya](/source/David_Raya) and West Ham forward [Pablo](/source/Pablo_(footballer%2C_born_2004)), which led to [Callum Wilson](/source/Callum_Wilson)'s disallowed equaliser and was described as one of the most pivotal VAR calls in Premier League history.{{cite web |last=Gardner |first=Jamie |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/west-ham-arsenal-chris-kavanagh-var-b2974305.html |title=West Ham-Arsenal referee and VAR praised for ‘really good teamwork’ after disallowed goal controversy |publisher=The Independent |date=11 May 2026 }} == References == {{Reflist}} {{Premier League referees}} {{DEFAULTSORT:England, Darren}} Category:English referees and umpires Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:Premier League referees Category:English Football League referees Category:National League (English football) referees Category:English football referees --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Darren England](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darren_England) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darren_England?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.