Joe Hart explains what PGMOL ‘assured’ him about the VAR monitor for Everton’s overturned penalty vs Brighton

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Everton endured a torrid day at the office yesterday, where everything that could go wrong did.

Facing a spirited Brighton and Hove Albion side under new management and blessed with a wealth of new, exciting and expensive talent, it was always going to be tough.

But seeing an early goal ruled out before then hitting the post marked a sign of things to come, before Ashley Young then got sent off just after Idrissa Gana Gueye had gifted the visitors their second goal.

It was calamitous.

And as if things couldn’t get any worse, once again Everton were embroiled in VAR controversy early in the second half that could have altered everything.

Joe Hart reveals what PGMOL told him about Everton

Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day, the newly-retired Joe Hart sat beside Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer to comb over the first round of Premier League fixtures.

And with Everton’s clash against the Seagulls one of the first to be shown, for all the wrong reasons, they were surprisingly short in their analysis.

However, the former Manchester City and Celtic shot-stopper did offer his verdict on the outstanding flashpoint in the game, when VAR overturned the Toffees’ penalty early in the second half despite the monitor failing to show Simon Hooper the footage.

Hart claimed: ‘I think we all agreed at the time. Penalty was a fair decision if you see it how it is. We’ve spoken to the PGMOL, because we saw that the VAR was being used a little bit differently.

‘Here we see Calvert-Lewin stands on Dunk’s foot. It’s not Dunk coming towards him, it’s Calvert-Lewin standing on his foot which therefore makes him fall over.

‘A little bit of confusion here as the see the VAR screen wasn’t playing. But they assured us that there’s a backup screen there for him to see, make the decision, overturned. I think it’s a good decision.’

Everton once again outdone by VAR

There is a very good reason why Evertonians so often claim that the Premier League is corrupt, booing the anthem before kick-off as the players shake hands.

And whilst the bulk of that anger is directed towards their conduct regarding PSR and how they twice deducted points from the Toffees last season, it has naturally spilt over elsewhere, with fans feeling that their punishment has extended outside the realms of just finances.

After all, there were too many VAR errors to count last season, with so many falling on the wrong side for Everton.

They only got their first penalty of the Premier League campaign in March, for a starter.

So, to now see them start the new term off with this kind of controversy, as the VAR monitor failed to show the referee the decision, is only going to add fuel to this already furious fire.