The Premier League referee who was at the centre of arguably the biggest VAR controversy of this season is set to be in charge when Watford aim to get back to winning ways in front of the live TV cameras at Vicarage Road tomorrow night.

Simon Hooper has been appointed to officiate the clash against Norwich City where Valerien Ismael's side will be looking to get back on track following Saturday's defeat at Leicester City.

The Wiltshire official was in the middle for Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool at the end of September when Luiz Diaz had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside by the assistant referee – and VAR did not question the decision.

After the match, referees governing body PGMOL published a statement admitting a “significant human error” had occurred, with the audio recordings of the incident also subsequently released.

Liverpool finished the game with nine men after Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were sent off, while Hooper also showed a total of ten yellow cards.

The referee has officiated a total of ten league and cup matches this season, showing a total of 47 yellow cards and three reds, having also dismissed Reece James in Chelsea’s 4-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday.

Hooper last refereed the Hornets in April 2022 when they were beaten 2-1 at home by Brentford in the Premier League, having also officiated the 3-1 defeat to Manchester City at Vicarage Road and the 1-0 loss at Leeds United earlier in the season.

Adrian Holmes and Mark Scholes are due to be the assistant referees for the 8pm kick-off, with Christopher Pollard the fourth official.