Everton are going into Goodison Park’s Finale on the back of three points against Fulham on Saturday.
It has not been overly convincing from David Moyes’ side over recent weeks with just one win in 10 games prior to the game in west London.
That was evident in Everton’s first-half showing at Craven Cottage which saw the Blues fortunate to enter the break on level terms.
Beto scored again for Everton as he made it back-to-back games on the scoresheet following his barren run.
But not everyone was left satisfied following full-time with Marco Silva claiming Fulham were the better side.
The Cottagers were denied a late penalty after a VAR review and former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg shared his thoughts on the incident with Everton News.
Mark Clattenburg shocked by Fulham vs Everton VAR decision
Vitaliy Mykolenko scored his first goal of the season on Saturday as he provided Everton with the equaliser just before the break.
However, the Ukraine international was left sweating late in the game after seeing VAR check for a handball against him.
Referee Darren England did not initially award a penalty, and after consulting the monitor, he stuck with his decision.
After reviewing the incident, Clattenburg told Everton News he was very surprised to see an experienced referee even suggest it needed to require a second look from England.
“Premier League referees have different criteria when it comes to handball and was not surprised it was not given in the end,” he said.
“There has been less than 10 penalties given all season for handball so there is a stricter approach on what constitutes a penalty. Mykolenko’s arm is slightly away from the body but tries to move it away as the ball comes in from a short distance.
Earlier in the week, Mykolenko shared his desire to remain at Everton ahead of the move to Bramley-Moore Dock.
“I am more surprised a very experienced VAR in Michael Salisbury would recommend a review when this is not a clear and obvious error from the referee Darren England,” Clattenburg added.
“We do not see very often referees after going to a review to stick with their original decision, so England needs to be applauded for this and in the end, the right decision was reached as I don’t believe that this is a penalty.”
The left-back will be delighted to see his goal was not overshadowed by conceding a late penalty.
What the Premier League said about Vitaliy Mykolenko’s handball
Moyes praised Michael Keane for his display against Fulham in what was a fairly solid showing from the Everton backline.
It would have been frustrating for the Toffees to have conceded such a late penalty after what was a strong second half performance.
Taking to their official account, the Premier League shared a statement on why the penalty for handball was not given.
‘VAR checked the referee’s call of no penalty for a possible handball by Mykolenko – and deemed that his arm way away from his body, therefore recommended an on-field review,’ the statement read.
‘Upon review, the referee deemed that Mykolenko’s arm was in a justifiable position given’
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