Paul Joyce details FA decision on Everton appeal against DCL red card
Everton have successfully won their appeal against Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s red card against Crystal Palace in their FA Cup tie at Selhurst Park, according to Paul Joyce.
The Times journalist, sharing on his personal Twitter account (9 January) shared that the Toffees have won their appeal for the striker’s controversial dismissal against the Seagulls (4 January) after a tackle on defender Nathaniel Clyne.
The England international was sent off after 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.
BBC Sport journalist Shamoon Hafeez tweeted on Friday (5 January) that the Toffees were considering appealing the red card and have now been successful with the FA, according to Joyce.
He posted: “Everton have successfully won their appeal against Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s red card in the FA Cup tie with Crystal Palace.”
Correct decision
It was a dreadful decision from both VAR and the referee as Calvert-Lewin’s tackle looked nowhere near one which looked like “excessive” or reckless force. In fact, it was a clean one and the Everton man could 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.
Once again, we have seen a game controlled by VAR in the wrong way and it is ruining the sport. In real-time, Calvert-Lewin’s tackle was clean but when footage like that can be slowed down, it will always look worse.
It’s great that the FA have realised the mistake and have overturned the decision but these drawn-out processes over appeals wouldn’t be happening if they used common sense with certain decisions like Calvert-Lewin’s.
Referees cannot be making decisions like that based on slowed-down images, there have been so many worse incidents that have gone unchecked in recent weeks and this Calvert-Lewin tackle strangely gets checked and punished.
Something has to be done over the use of VAR and hopefully, this Calvert-Lewin development will be the final straw in the FA scrutinising the referees’ use of the technology.
In other Everton news, Paul Brown has mooted a new contract for an exit-linked Toffees player.