Exclusive: Referee ‘should have checked Everton penalty’ in Aston Villa defeat
Everton should have had a claim for a penalty checked on-field by the referee in their defeat to Aston Villa at Goodison Park, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider the official should have been allowed to judge himself whether or not Jesper Lindstron was pushed in the area by Morgan Rogers.
David Moyes’ first game back as Toffees boss began in somewhat quiet style, before Ollie Watkins eventually opened the scoring for Aston Villa six minutes into the second-half.
That was enough to deny the 61-year-old any positive result on his return to Goodison Park, although Everton may feel they should have had the chance to level from the spot ten minutes later.
Everton denied penalty on David Moyes return
The hosts had already been left frustrated moments after the opening goal when Amadou Onana was not shown a second yellow card for a cynical foul on Orel Mangala.
As Everton then went in search of an equaliser, they would win a corner just past the hour-mark from which things became somewhat controversial.
While the set-piece was crossed into the area, Dominic Calvert-Lewin went to ground for the Toffees amid some holding and grappling in the area.
At the back post meanwhile, Toffees substitute Jesper Lindstrom also ended up on the floor after being pushed in the back by Morgan Rogers as he jumped for the ball.
The incident was checked by VAR, which decided there was no need to award a penalty to Everton, although Hackett feels referee Sam Barrott should have had the chance to check that push for himself.
Speaking to Football Insider about any potential claims for a penalty for Moyes’ side from that corner, the former referee said:
“The upper body challenges in the penalty area are more often than not ignored by referees in the Premier League. Grappling, holding and pushing appears to be acceptable.
“There is a push and I would have liked the referee to have visited the monitor to deliver a verdict, not the VAR as in this case.
“Let the referee judge if he thinks it’s pushing. It is a push for me but modern referees are ignoring these incidents.”
Following that defeat Everton remain 16th in the Premier League table, just one point clear of the relegation zone.
Aston Villa meanwhile have climbed to seventh in the standings, and are now just three points adrift of a Champions League spot.
In other news, David Moyes has been told what his first task will be after returning to Everton.
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