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Match officials do not referee matches any differently despite the “safety net” of video assistant referees, says retired Premier League official Darren Cann.

Cann, 56, retired this month after over 1,000 games as an assistant referee, including a record 579 in the Premier League.

The VAR system was introduced in the Premier League at the start of the 2019-20 season.

There is often a suggestion that referees do not make a decision on the pitch because they know VAR should make the right one.

“Not everybody likes VAR and I accept that view,” Cann told BBC Sport.

“But from a match official’s point of view, it is a really valuable tool.

“I would like to dispel a myth. People think we referee differently because there is VAR but nothing could be further from the truth.

“My mindset is to eradicate VAR from that 90 minutes by getting my decisions right. Our mindset is to make the right decision.

“If we do make a clear and obvious error we do have the safety net of VAR. “

Cann has welcomed the introduction of semi-automated offside, which came into the Premier League on the weekend of his final game.

The technology uses artificial intelligence and special cameras to make the judgement of tight offside calls quicker and easier.

“In previous seasons it could take up to 50 seconds just to draw the lines before they came to a decision,” said Cann.

“With semi-automated offside the lines are automatically drawn at the point where the ball is kicked. That speeds up the checks.

“It won’t affect the assistant referees on the pitch. They still make their calls. But it does speed up the checks. “

Cann’s biggest two games came in 2010 – the Champions League final and World Cup final.

“Before VAR I got an offside wrong in a Premier League game that still haunts me to this day,” said Cann.

“It was only half a yard and was one of those where a forward and defender cross over at high speed. I just got my timing wrong and flagged when I shouldn’t have.

Ronnie O’Sullivan, the seven-time world champion, claimed that despite only needing 17 minutes to complete the one frame required to reach the quarter-finals of the World Championship, he was “nowhere near” his best level.

After Sunday’s second session, O’Sullivan, 49, held a 12-point lead over China’s Pang Junxu, and the frame’s first 17 points led to a 95-point break on Monday evening.

O’Sullivan, a fan favorite, won his first two competitive games after taking his cue and throwing it into a bin at the Championship League event in January, winning 10-4 over Ali Carter and 13-4 against Pang.

The Englishman has stated that he is trying to “rebuild” his game and has not competed for three months.

O’Sullivan was unhappy with his performance despite advancing to the eighth Crucible world title, which was still on pace for.

When asked to rate his current level of play against a ten, he responded with “two” and said that he would need to improve if he wanted to win the tournament.

He continued, “I need game time and I’m attempting to get my game back.

As long as I play my game, I don’t care who I play. I always back myself if I can play at or above my best level, regardless of who is in the chair.

It can click at any time, but I’m not sure if that’s even close.

The 2023 champion, Luca Brecel, also won in a hurry, only needing one frame to defeat 2016 runner-up Ding, who finished second.

Ding won the opening frame, but Brecel won 11 more to take complete control. On Sunday, Ding won three of the final four frames, but he was unable to earn a point on Monday.

O’Sullivan will face China’s Si Jiahui, who reached the semi-finals two years ago, while Brecel will now face 2019 champion Judd Trump in the quarter-finals.

Brecel said, “I felt quite good, but not at all good enough to win.”

Steve Davis, a six-time champion, said the Belgian was one of the most entertaining players at the tournament in a statement to BBC TV.

You can’t teach Luca’s attitude toward the game and his ability to play without worrying about missing a ball, Davis said.

World No. 1 defeated Shaun Murphy’s comeback earlier on Monday to end a thrilling last-16 tussle.

When Trump took the lead 12-6, Murphy capitalized by capturing four frames straight after missing a red in the middle pocket.

However, 2019 champion Trump held his ground for a 13-10 victory in the 23rd frame.

If he wins the world title, which is worth $500,000, the 35-year-old could become the first player to top $2 million in prize money in a single season.

Shaun was in a world of his own for four or five frames, according to Trump, who spoke to BBC Two.

“In the past, I’ve been a little hard on myself, but now I’m much more resilient mentally and have come to terms with the losses as motivation.”

This year, I’m much more confident and hitting the ball much better. I feel much more confident in myself and feel much more at ease.

He continued, “Practically every day you play], and you are looking to that next session every time.” On his chances of a second world title, he continued.

China’s Si defeated England’s Ben Woollaston, who defeated fourth seed Mark Selby in the first round, to advance to the quarter-finals in the other match of the afternoon session.

Si made it to the semi-finals two years ago, but he lost to eventual champion Brecel 17-15 after letting a 14-5 lead slip.

After coming back from 9-7 behind to win 10-10, Woollaston, 44th in the world, felt like he had missed a wonderful opportunity to recover from.

He stated, “I was 9-7 down and unsure of how. Because I had so many frames to win, I should have been 10-6 up.

Quarter-finals (best frame out of 25 frames, no final decision).

10: 00 BST

Chris Wakelin vs. Zhao Xintong

Mark Williams (6) vs. John Higgins (3)

14:30

Ronnie O’Sullivan (5) v Si Jiahui (13)

Judd Trump v. Luca Brecel (2)

19:00

Chris Wakelin vs. Zhao Xintong

Mohamed Salah’s selfie celebration during Liverpool’s Premier League title-clinching win over Tottenham Hotspur has become an iconic moment.

The Egyptian scored the Reds’ fourth goal in Sunday’s 5-1 victory at Anfield and, after celebrating his strike, borrowed a phone from a staff member before taking a photograph of himself and the cheering Liverpool fans behind him.

But some have asked could it have been a marketing idea, because the phone Salah used is made by one of Liverpool’s sponsors.

“At the beginning of the season I always take selfies with players [who score], so for this one I said ‘OK, I have to think of something special because it’s a picture that’s going to be there forever’,” Salah told BBC Sport.

Salah, 32, has frequently posted selfies with Reds team-mates on social media, while his recent two-year contract extension announcement included a self-taken photograph.

Initially observers thought Salah had taken the phone off a fan in the crowd, but it was a Liverpool staff member located behind the advertising hoardings in front of the Kop.

The photograph, which Salah and Liverpool posted on their social media accounts, has millions of likes and views.

But it has courted some controversy with observers wondering if it was a natural celebration, or an advert for Google Pixel, an official partner of the club.

In response, others have pointed out they could not know Salah would have scored – and none of the first three goalscorers did this celebration – although it was his 33rd goal of the season so not much of a surprise.

Post-match Salah took selfies again – which Google Pixel posted on social media.

Salah could have been booked for delaying the restart of play with the celebration, but referee Thomas Bramall kept his cards in his pocket.

Team-mate Cody Gakpo had earlier been shown a yellow card for celebrating his goal to make it 3-1 by taking off his shirt to reveal an ‘I belong to Jesus’ T-shirt.

BBC Sport has asked Liverpool and the Football Association (FA) for comment on the Salah selfie story.

The FA has rules around advertising on kits and betting companies – but there do not appear to be specific rules prohibiting something like this incident, even if it was intentional marketing.

Despite all the hype, Salah is far from the first footballer to celebrate a goal with a selfie.

Perhaps the highest-profile one until now was Roma forward Francesco Totti doing so after scoring in a 2015 derby against Lazio.

Then 38, he was handed a phone by one of Roma’s coaches before taking the photo in front of the club’s fans.

But plenty of other players have done it too.