Gary Neville could see ‘fear in the referee’s eyes’ amid Everton controversy vs Tottenham
Gary Neville felt he could see that Craig Pawson was scared to tell the furious Everton crowd about his decision to rule out a potential equaliser.
The Toffees suffered their first home defeat since moving into their new Hill Dickinson Stadium home as Tottenham beat Everton 3-0.
Micky van de Ven scored either side of half time and Pape Matar Sarr added a late third but Everton were aggrieved to see a Jake O’Brien equaliser chalked off in the first half.
Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye were in offside positions and adjudged to be interfering with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario as the header was powered past him.
Craig Pawson disallowed Jake O’Brien’s goal amid Everton fan rage
Supporters rained down boos as O’Brien‘s leveller saw Pawson sent to the monitor, with replays showing two of his teammates beyond the last defender and close to Vicario.
Whether the Italian would have made a save without the attentions of Ndiaye especially is debatable but the official ultimately decided the attacker’s presence had an effect.
He hardly seemed confident, however, when returning to the pitch to announce the call to the stadium, with ex-Man United defender Neville noting the apparent reticence.
Reacting live on Sky Sports after Pawson’s explanation was met by fury from the stands Neville said, sarcastically: “It’s gone down well.”
In response, commentator Peter Drury asked: “Who would want to make that announcement, in here?”
Neville replied: “You can almost see the fear in the referee’s eyes, couldn’t you, as he was about to speak?
“What I would say is the defensive team with the defensive mindset, the reason these teams stay out now and don’t put men on the post is to make sure that there are offside players left in there.”
Decisions go against Everton in lop-sided home loss
Everton rarely feel like they are coming out on top when it comes to officiating or administrative decisions in recent years and saw a tough call going against them at a key moment.
With Van de Ven’s nudging Jordan Pickford off balance before he scored his second but no real attention paid by VAR it looked liked it wouldn’t be the Toffees’ day.
A 3-0 scoreline flattered the visitors but a lack of cutting edge up front for the hosts meant there rarely felt like much danger of a comeback.
A tough trip to this season’s surprise package Sunderland, fresh off a last-gasp victory at Chelsea, next means it doesn’t get any easier, and David Moyes will need more luck and more going forward in the North East.
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