Mark Halsey says Everton have ‘themselves to blame’ for Brentford loss
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has insisted Everton only have “themselves to blame” after their defeat to Brentford on Sunday [May 15].
A host of controversial decisions from Michael Oliver – including red cards for Jarrad Branthwaite and Salomon Rondon – saw the Blues suffer a 3-2 defeat at Goodison Park.
Frank Lampard’s side now needs positive results in their two remaining Premier League games as Leeds and Burnley breathe down their neck amid their relegation battle.
He told CaughtOffside: “It was a vital game for Everton at home to Brentford, and they can have no one else to blame but themselves as they lost and finished the game with nine men.
“Things clearly boiled over, and I’m not surprised that manager Frank Lampard is going to be spoken to about his complaints regarding the officials.
“Regarding Richarlison having his shirt pulled – perhaps some will feel that was harsh on Everton, but I think both of them were at it there. Having said that, if the referee had given it we wouldn’t have seen VAR overturn it.
“As for Rondon’s sending off – he can have no complaints, it was a silly challenge, with excessive force. It was good to see Michael Oliver take a moment to think about it and then issue the red card. It was a bad day for Everton, but they have only themselves to blame here.”
Howler.
Oliver should never referee a Premier League game again after that horror show, honestly.
The standard of officiating in England is nothing short of a joke and countless times the Blues have been on the back end of terrible decisions – ones that could see them go down if they aren’t very careful.
Lampard is going to get the reputation as a moaner with the number of times he has had to come out and speak about the refereeing decisions that have cost his team and he has only been at the club since January.
The former Chelsea boss is well within his rights to be aggrieved because the Toffees were by far the better team until Branthwaite was sent off.
It was agonising because the Merseysiders would have won and deserved to on a day where three points would have guaranteed safety.
There is nothing that can be done about it now and the lads have to go and finish the job in the two remaining games.
In other Everton news, Sean Dyche has lifted the lid on a private talk with Lampard after he insulted the Blues.
Be sure to follow Goodison News on Facebook for 24/7 updates on Everton plus more exclusive interviews with Kevin Campbell.