THE LINESMAN THAT advised Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott to applaud his travelling supporters after his side’s 2-0 win has been axed from the match officials panel for an FA Cup tie.

John Brooks came to the attention of TheScore.ie, and the footballing world, when he suggested to Lescott that he applaud the City supporters that had paid a hefty fee to attend the match at the Emirates.

Brooks was caught by Sky Sports cameras saying, “They’ve paid 62 quid over there, go and see them.”

The Independent has revealed that Brooks has been dropped from the panel of match officials for tomorrow evening’s FA Cup third-round reply between West Brom and QPR.

Here is the incident in question.

YouTube credit: BBCSportChannel

The newspaper reports that Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the body which controls the assigning of officials for matches, was displeased by one of its staff members getting involved in such a matter, and has removed him from duty.

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