Brooks’ last match refereeing Newcastle was a 3-2 defeat at Chelsea back in March. Prior to that, Brooks refereed The Magpies’ 3-1 win at Aston Villa in January.
But his last match in charge at St James’ Park came against Liverpool in August 2023 as a late turnaround from the visitors saw Newcastle suffer a 2-1 defeat. The match saw Brooks send Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk off for a foul on Alexander Isak after Anthony Gordon had given Newcastle the lead. Despite being down to 10 men, Jurgen Klopp's side mounted a late comeback with Darwin Nunez scoring twice to secure a 2-1 win.
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On Brooks' decision to send Van Dijk off former Reds boss Klopp said after the match at St James’ Park: "There is no active contact from Virgil van Dijk. It is just going for the ball and on the way there, he made contact.
”For this contact, getting three games, oh my God, unbelievable.”
Van Dijk's reaction to the red card directed at Brooks saw him handed an additional one-match suspension and fine £100,000 after admitting he acted in an improper manner and used abusive and insulting words towards the match official.
For Saturday’s match against Arsenal, Jarred Gillett will be video assistant referee, assisted by Darren Cann.
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