Referee who made the 'worst decision in Premier League history' appointed for Brighton vs Arsenal
Refereeing decisions have been causing so much controversy lately that fans of every club are keen to find out which officials have been appointed for their side’s game.
Arsenal have had three decisions go against them – against Aston Villa, Sunderland and Ipswich Town – which is simply not good enough.
The Gunners take on Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League next, and ProRef has revealed the refereeing appointments.
Darren England will be the man in the middle, and Arsenal fans will remember him for a very controversial decision he made a few years ago.
Darren England was the VAR when Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off vs Wolves
Arsenal have been on the wrong side of several refereeing errors in recent years.
One of the worst calls ever came in January 2025, during a game between the Gunners and Wolves in the Premier League at Molineux. Myles Lewis-Skelly was shown a red card in that game.
The teenager tripped Matt Doherty near the edge of Arsenal’s own box. It was a yellow card, sure, but Michael Oliver, who was the man in the middle, showed a straight red.
Everyone who saw the incident knew immediately that it was a mistake that VAR would correct immediately after having a look.
However, England, who was in the VAR hub, decided to stick with the original decision, which made every Arsenal fan furious.
Even Micah Richards, who is almost always jovial, was not happy, so much so that he called it the worst decision since the Premier League began.
He said on the Rest is Football podcast at the time: “That’s the worst decision I’ve ever seen in Premier League football history, and I stick by it. This happens week in, week out.
“Michael Oliver, yes, I think he’s top, so he makes a mistake, and we all make mistakes. When we’re doing our punditry, we own up, don’t we? How can I improve? Because that’s what any normal human being does, they own up to their mistakes.
“But how on earth can they go to VAR (Darren England), look at a screen, look at it multiple times – not even a split second to look at it, but 10 seconds, 20 seconds, multiple different angles – and they still think that is a red card?
“I don’t like using the word “disgrace” because I feel like it’s easy to throw that word out. But if you look at the magnitude of that decision, it was so poor, and for them to double down on the decision, I just think it’s shocking!”
Arsenal appealed that decision and it was rightly overturned by the FA, who acknowledged that both Oliver and England had made a mistake.
Hopefully, nothing of the sort happens when England is in the middle for Arsenal’s clash against Brighton on Saturday.
Arsenal’s record when Darren England is the referee is actually excellent
England’s decision to not overturn Lewis-Skelly’s red card has made a lot of headlines, but Arsenal’s results when he has been the referee have mostly been perfect.
In nine games where the 40-year-old has been in charge, the Gunners have won seven, drawn one and lost one, which is a fine record.
The last time England officiated an Arsenal game was in the 2025/26 season. Arteta’s men beat Chelsea 2-1 thanks to goals from William Saliba and Jurrien Timber.
As for Brighton, they have dropped points in seven of the 13 games in which England has been the referee. Their last fixture with him in the middle, though, was an impressive win over Liverpool.