Everton have every right to prolong their frustration, after Saturday’s match was embroiled in VAR controversy.
This technology, first introduced into the Premier League in 2019/20 season, has had a short and unflattering history associated with the sport.
Unfortunately, its implementation means that now, no matter how much scrutiny it garners, it cannot be reversed.
It’s here to stay, so all that players and fans can hope is that those operating it can at least get the decisions right.
On this occasion, as Everton hosted Newcastle United, that was sadly not the case.
Premier League release VAR footage of Everton’s penalty claim
Having already seen the visitors gifted one penalty, eventually saved by Jordan Pickford in the first half, it was the Toffees who felt like they were then owed one in return as the second half dragged on.
After all, Dominic Calvert-Lewin was due to tap into an open net after Nick Pope had parried his initial effort, were it not for Dan Burn’s last-gasp interaction.
Throwing his body in between man and ball, he clearly took out the striker, yet it was somehow adjudged that it was the Everton man who had kicked the defender.
So, the decision was no penalty.
The Premier League have released the VAR footage from Everton’s match, in an effort to justify their outcome, but that has hardly eased frustration.
In it, the man on VAR tells Craig Pawson: ‘It’s checked and cleared Craig. Checked and clear. Check complete, check complete.
‘The defender gets his foot in front and the attacker kicks the back of the defender. No penalty.’
However, he failed to notice one crucial detail which makes that suggestion obsolete.
VAR missed crucial detail in Everton vs Newcastle United
It seems that, in their haste to speed through this decision, VAR failed to implement one vitally important notion that would have certainly reversed their decision.
This season, plans were revealed to start trusting the referee’s decision more and more, in an effort to not undermine them with VAR.
However, on this occasion, both he and the technology came to the same crazy conclusion, forgetting to remember that Burn had gone into the challenge with no intention of playing the ball.
His desperate lunge gets nowhere near it, and instead just inserts himself into Calvert-Lewin’s space. He may kick the defender’s leg on paper, but there is so much context which needs considering to truly explain why that still should have resulted in an Everton penalty.
If Burn is not going for the ball, and only disrupts the active player, then surely it must be a foul?
It’s also worth noting that both Stephen Warnock and Sue Smith thought Everton should have had a penalty vs Newcastle United too.
At this point, with each passing game week, the Premier League and VAR only continue to hamper their reputation.
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