Ex-FIFA official fumes at ‘shocking’ Everton decision as Goodison Park news emerges on Tuesday
Keith Hackett believes the decision to award Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin a red card against Crystal Palace was “shocking” with the FA now overturning the striker’s ban.
The ex-FIFA referee shared his reaction on his Twitter account (9 January) to an Everton fan’s verdict that the decision to send off Calvert-Lewin at Selhurst Park (4 January) was the “worst use of VAR in its history”.
The Times journalist Paul Joyce shared on his personal Twitter account (9 January) that the Toffees have won their appeal for the striker’s controversial dismissal against the Seagulls after his tackle on defender Nathaniel Clyne.
On-field referee Chris Kavanagh had been advised to review the incident on a pitchside monitor after an intervention from video assistant referee Michael Salisbury and Hackett fumed over the “shocking” decision arguing that Kavanagh had been thrown under the bus by Salisbury and Craig Pawson.
He posted: “I agree Shane it was a shocking decision. Ref Kavanagh put in the back by SVAR Salisbury and BAR Pawson.”
VAR use shocking
The view that the Calvert-Lewin decision could well be one of the worst we’ve seen from the use of VAR in its history may just be absolutely spot on, to be fair.
Calvert-Lewin’s tackle looked nowhere near one which looked like “excessive” or reckless force. It was actually a clean and innocent challenge on Clyne and the Everton forward could well have faced an undeserved punishment for it.
While there was slight contact made with the defender’s leg, it wasn’t reckless and out of control, and it almost certainly wasn’t a “clear and obvious” error by Kavanagh to not send him off originally.
Why VAR intervened on that challenge was a total farce and just about proved the incompetence and lack of consistency of referees today. Kavanagh was indeed thrown on the bus because his on-field decision was correct.
Why can’t on-pitch referees have the power to override VAR calls too? Had Kavanagh been given the power to do so at Selhurst Park, the scrutiny over VAR won’t be at an all-time high right now and maybe fans would have been forgiven for harbouring hope that things can change regarding the use of the technology.
It is something Referee chief Howard Webb must address in the coming weeks because the FA have certainly made them look incredibly silly with the correct call to overturn Calvert-Lewin’s dismissal.
In other Everton news, Real Madrid want to sign one Goodison Park fan-favourite this summer, and manager Carlo Ancelotti has received rave reviews from scouts already.