Howard Webb reacts to yet another Everton controversy in Premier League
Howard Webb believes referee Craig Pawson was right not to award a penalty to Everton during the goalless draw versus Newcastle United on Saturday (5 October).
The incident has split opinion amongst fans after Dominic Calvert-Lewin was brought down in the box by Dan Burn, but following a VAR review, calls for a spot-kick were waved away.
Earlier in the game, the Magpies had been awarded a penalty after James Tarkowski pulled Sandro Tonali to the floor, which Anthony Gordon eventually saw saved by Jordan Pickford, but the Toffees’ calls were ignored.
Speaking via Match Officials Mic’d Up on Tuesday (8 October), Webb said: “I don’t think it’s a penalty either. I think it’s a really good on-field judgement as well.
“We see Nick Pope makes a save and the ball rebounds and then two players, Calvert-Lewin and Burn, are moving towards that loose ball. Importantly, Burn moves in a straight line in a normal way and gets his foot in front of Calvert-Lewin.
“He doesn’t deviate his foot into Calvert-Lewin or move towards him in that way. Of course, we see Calvert-Lewin then swinging to take a shot and making contact with Burn from behind, but Burn’s foot is already there in a pretty normal way so I don’t think it’s a foul by Burn and I think it’s all a normal coming-together between the two players and a good judgment on the field.”
Everton controversy continues after Newcastle penalty decision
Fans are unlikely to be happy with any explanation from a refereeing official as to why Calvert-Lewin was not awarded a penalty, especially after being denied several controversial decisions.
While VAR technology is there to help solve contentious decisions such as this one, there is always room for human error due to those who are using it at Stockley Park, many of whom have not played the sport.
Despite multiple explanations suggesting that Burn did nothing wrong by putting his foot in the way of Calvert-Lewin’s shot, it just doesn’t justify why it was not a penalty.
The whole situation has done nothing to help the Premier League re-enter the Toffees’ good books, with some fans often suggesting there is an “agenda” against the club due to certain decisions.
Of course, this is hugely unlikely but fans are, understandably, frustrated by the number of decisions that continue to go against them in the Premier League.
In other Everton news, Ally McCoist has shared a new relegation verdict at Goodison Park, “I don’t care…”.
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