Everton fans are sick and tired of seeing blatant penalty shouts waved away.
Last season saw their frustration reach an all-time high, as they were the final team in the entire Premier League to be awarded a spot kick, and even then Beto fluffed his lines from 12 yards to compound their misery.
The Toffees waited until March for a decision to go their way, despite having had numerous other viable examples where such an outcome would have been justified.
Well, it seems this campaign seems set to continue in that frustrating fashion.
Sky Sports debate Everton penalty shout vs Newcastle United
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, naturally, the biggest controversy to emerge from Saturday’s 5:30 pm kick-off was Everton’s ignored penalty shout.
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher was the first to speak, laughably claiming: ’I think Dan Burn has been clever, he’s put his foot across to protect the ball and Calvert-Lewin has actually kicked him in the back of the leg rather than the other way around. So that’s why it’s not given.’
Stephen Warnock, however, was refreshingly blunt in his retort: ‘I was at the game, I thought this was a penalty 100%. My reason being is, there’s a couple of incidents where, as a former full-back, if I had a player who was in front of me and I went to pinch the ball and that player puts their foot across and gets there, I will always get impeded trying to go into their space.
‘If you think about incidents where you run forward with the ball and that player trips you from behind, they’ve now took your leg from underneath you. Dan Burn does exactly the same.
‘Just because he’s tried to get in front of him. I was absolutely astonished this wasn’t given as a penalty. Calvert-Lewin is now in a motion, a position where he’s going to strike a ball, and Dan Burn makes content with the back of his leg and takes him to ground.
‘I’m still astounded that people don’t see it as Calvert-Lewin’s in the ascendency with his leg forward and Dan Burn goes round him, into that area. It’s baffling. I still can’t get my head around it. I’m absolutely in shock.’
Then, Sue Smith’s appraisal was a short one: ‘It’s a penalty. I completely agree with everything that Stephen says there.’
Dominic Calvert-Lewin denied certain goal vs Newcastle United
The fact of the matter is, if Dan Burn was not there, impeding Dominic Calvert-Lewin, he would have been free to tap home the rebound from his initial shot.
He was set to be first there by some comfort, before the Newcastle United defender desperately threw himself in between the man and the ball.
Such a decision might have been deemed legal, had he not put himself within the striker’s space just as he was drawing his leg back to shoot.
In fact, by diving in, he also took out Calvert-Lewin’s standing leg too.
And yet, no penalty was given.
Were it not for Burn, Everton would have taken the lead, and it explains exactly why Evertonians were furious with Craig Pawson after the match.
Calvert-Lewin was also baffled that he did not get a penalty too.
However, it’s becoming more and more common to see these referees make huge errors, yet never have to answer for their transgressions.
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