Hackett Exclusive: Everton vs Sunderland decision exposes referees – ‘This is awful’
Everton’s FA Cup third-round loss to Sunderland has exposed referees, Keith Hackett has said.
Sunderland took the lead against Everton as Enzo Le Fee fired home a cute effort past Jordan Pickford after half an hour.
However, David Moyes‘ side did not give up, and Adam Aznou won a penalty, which allowed the Toffees to equalise in the 89th minute.
It ultimately did not matter as the Black Cats won the penalty shootout, to seal a place in the fourth-round and knock the Blues out.
Hackett speaks out over Everton penalty decision
Everton looked to be heading out of the cup, but Moyes’ decision to bring on Aznou was an inspired one, as he won the spot kick.
James Garner converted it, but the decision to award the kick in the first place was controversial, with no VAR in place to make the final call.
However, Hackett believes that the penalty that took the clash to extra time, which the former Bayern Munich man earned, should not have been awarded.
Speaking exclusively to Goodison News, he said: “This is an awful decision from the referee, John Brooks.
“How he can judge that this is a foul demonstrates how much some of the referees rely so much on VAR.”
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Why Everton penalty was deserved anyway
The Blues should have had a penalty earlier in the contest anyway, so in the end, it was fair that they were on the receiving end of a shaky call.
Beto was dragged down by Luke O’Nien, but Brooks did not see enough in it to award a spot kick, and it was not awarded.
Moyes’ side have had several dodgy decisions go against them this season, so it is about time that they got one in their favour.
The Michael Keane sending off against Wolves has caused a lot of controversy, with the Blues not believing that the decision to deny their appeal was right.
Earlier in the campaign, they had strange penalty calls go against them, with Brighton and Leeds both given spot kicks for debatable handballs.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s suspension for picking up five yellow cards was another incident which brought referees under the microscope, as his booking against Liverpool was nonsense.
It is about time the Merseysiders had something go in their favour.