Everton v Nottingham Forest: Ex-PGMOL chief slams Anthony Taylor and Stuart Attwell
Keith Hackett has slammed the performances of referee Anthony Taylor and VAR Stuart Attwell in the Everton victory over Nottingham Forest.
The former PGMOL chief reacted via Twitter on 21 April to criticise the pair of officials after the controversial 2-0 Toffees victory at Goodison Park.
Forest were outraged that three penalty appeals involving Ashley Young were turned down, and look set to be in hot water after appearing to accuse Attwell of doing so because he is a Luton fan, with Rob Edwards’ side a point and a place behind them in the relegation zone.
Ex-FIFA ref Hackett said of Taylor’s refereeing: “Unacceptable performance frankly”.
And of Attwell’s lack of intervention as the video assistant he said: “It was handball, Forest unlucky not to have two penalty shouts and third one that could have been given. Was there a VAR in position or in the motorway heading home – not good enough.”
Ashley Young controversy explodes out of Everton victory
All three of the Forest penalty shouts were possibly debatable enough in real time for Taylor to get away with his original verdict, although they were all ones that Sean Dyche would have been screaming for if the roles were reversed.
It’s harder to see how Attwell confirmed the decisions from Stockley Park, as they are probably stretching what constitutes a clear and obvious error and what doesn’t, but the club were never going to get away with suggesting the official has done it because he is a Luton supporter, however strong their grounds to feel aggrieved.
Toffees supporters may have some sympathy with their opposite numbers, having been on the opposite side of their fair share of infuriating decisions in recent relegation battles, with Frank Lampard fined for his own criticism of Attwell at Anfield two years ago.
But equally, some might argue that Forest got off lightly in their dealings with the Premier League on points deductions, in a season which has pitted the two against each other in a legal setting over financial issues.
The upshot is that Young avoided another disaster performance in a key game, Dyche got the reaction he was looking for after telling his players he doesn’t plan on letting them get him fired this week, and the Toffees are now five-points from the drop zone with a game in hand, although the fallout from this game feels like has only just started.
In other Everton news, an outraged Gary Neville has demanded a high-profile immediate resignation.
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