Mike Dean immediately reacts to Everton controversy v Fulham, Kris Boyd responds
Mike Dean has had his say as Everton earned a 3-1 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Everton put an end to their three-game winless run in the Premier League with a well-deserved win against Marco Silva’s side on 10 May.
Raul Jimenez put Fulham in front just 17 minutes into the match, but goals from Vitalii Mykolenko, Michael Keane and Beto saw the Toffees pull off a comeback win.
However, the game was not without controversy, as Fulham thought they should have had a penalty just seconds before full-time after the ball struck Mykolenko’s arm in the box.
Dean says Mykolenko should have been penalised
Reacting to the incident live on air, Dean said he expects Darren England to penalise Mykolenko and award Fulham a penalty.
However, in a rather unusual and rare development, England decided to stick with his on-field decision of not awarding a penalty after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor..
Surprised by the decision, Dean claimed that officials have pointed to the spot for similar incidents in the Premier League this season.
He then justified the decision by admitting that Mykolenko was indeed trying to pull his arm out of the way before the ball struck him, as Sue Smith suggested.
“There have been penalty kicks given this season for these kinds of incidents, and everybody has stuck with and gone with it”, Dean said on Sky Sports News (4:59 pm).
“But, I get what Sue [Smith] is saying, he [Mykolenko] trying to pull away. As soon as Darren has gone to the screen, he is straightaway saying to VAR, ‘In my opinion, he’s trying to pull his arm out of the away’.
“So, fair play on the referee for sticking with his on-field decision.”
| Fulham | Stat | Everton |
| 18 | Shots | 11 |
| 6 | Shots on target | 7 |
| 64% | Possession | 36% |
| 543 | Passes | 311 |
| 86% | Pass accuracy | 77% |
Kris Boyd was quick to respond to Dean’s assessment, asking him if the referee’s decision would have been different had Fulham not already been trailing by two goals.
“If it’s 2-1, does he give it? It’s interesting”, Boyd said.
Dean replied: “It is interesting, but we’ll never know”.
Everton climb to 13th place in Premier League
With that, Everton have now moved to 13th place in the Premier League, having earned 42 points from 36 games.
Everton could finish as high as 12th place if they win their remaining two matches.
Moyes’ side will face Southampton in their final game at Goodison Park next Sunday (18 May) before ending their season with a trip to Newcastle on 25 May.