Exclusive: Everton penalty verdict on Alcaraz and Yates clash at Nottingham Forest
Everton were denied a penalty during their win over Nottingham Forest, and Keith Hackett has given his thoughts on that decision.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider there was not enough in Ryan Yates’ clash with Carlos Alcaraz to warrant the award of a spot kick.
David Moyes has done a remarkable job at Everton since returning earlier this year to replace Sean Dyche as Toffees boss.
A 1-0 win for Everton over Nottingham Forest at The City Ground on Saturday (12 April) has extended their excellent form under the Scot, and they are now well clear of the relegation zone.
Things though could have been rather different if decisions earlier in the game had gone in a different way.
Everton follow Nottingham Forest in having penalty appeal ignored
After Nottingham Forest had penalty claims turned away when Chris Wood was pushed in the area by Jake O’Brien, the Toffees then had their own appeals ignored.
An Everton free kick was cleared only as far as Alcaraz, the attacker then drove back into the area, lifting the ball over Yates before going to ground as the midfielder stood his ground to ensure the pair collided.
| Everton last five games | Result |
| Wolves (A) | Drew 1-1 |
| West Ham (H) | Drew 1-1 |
| Liverpool (A) | Lost 1-0 |
| Arsenal (H) | Drew 1-1 |
| Nottingham Forest (A) | Won 1-0 |
Despite appeals from Moyes’ side for a penalty to be awarded, referee Craig Pawson again elected not to point to the spot, with VAR also not intervening to penalise the Nottingham Forest man.
Now, Hackett believes that on this occasion the correct decision was reached by the officials, in electing not to give the penalty.
Ryan Yates clash with Carlos Alcaraz played down
After being asked if he felt the Toffees could have been awarded a penalty after that the collision between Yates and Alcaraz, the former referee said:
“No I think it’s his (Alcaraz’s) momentum that’s gone into the player (Yates). Not a penalty kick for me”.
Despite being denied this penalty, a stoppage-time winner from Abdoulaye Doucoure earned Everton all three points.
The Toffees are next in action when they host outgoing Premier League champions Man City at Goodison Park on Saturday (19 April).
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest will look to get their push for Champions League qualification on course when they travel to Tottenham next Monday (21 April).