Mike Dean reacts to controversial Everton incident v West Ham United live on Sky Sports
Everton were right to be awarded a penalty during the first half of their Premier League showdown with West Ham United, according to Mike Dean.
Sean Dyche’s side extended their winless run in the Premier League to 10 matches with a 3-1 defeat at Goodison Park on Saturday (2 March) with Beto’s second-half strike proving to be little more than a consolation goal.
The Toffees striker had an excellent opportunity to break the deadlock from the penalty spot after Kurt Zouma was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area and Dean believed the VAR was right to award a spot kick.
Speaking on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday (2 March, 15:42) he said: “His arm is away from his body and he’s been sent to the screen, I guess he’ll have a look at this.
“In my opinion, when you see it, his arm is away from his body, it’s hit his hand but he has moved it slightly towards it. I think it will be a penalty kick to Everton. It’s a penalty for me.”
Will Everton be able to avoid the drop into the Championship this season?
After a positive week at Goodison Park which saw Dyche’s side jump out of the Premier League relegation zone courtesy of the reduction of their points deduction, that mood was dampened quickly on Saturday.
Beto was a slightly surprise inclusion in Dyche’s starting XI ahead of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has struggled in front of goal this season and while he did manage to get on the scoresheet, he simply had to do more from twelve yards.
Whether or not the Toffees were slightly fortunate to be given the spot-kick will likely be the subject of plenty of debate among fans, but it seemed quite clear that former Everton defender Zouma did stick out his arm into an unnatural position.
Hopefully, the Blues will have enough to avoid the drop this season and won’t view Saturday’s clash as a missed opportunity come the end of the campaign, but they will only have themselves to blame for not picking up all three points.
In other Everton news, Paul Merson has reacted to a new “disgrace” at Goodison Park surrounding the second profit and sustainability charge
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