Darren England accused of deliberately ignoring Everton vs Man United incidents – ‘Football deserves better’
Referee Darren England failed to successfully officiate Everton’s 1-0 loss to Man United on Monday, according to former Premier League referee Keith Hackett.
Benjamin Sesko’s 72nd-minute strike was enough for the Red Devils to claim all three points at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Although the Toffees produced a spirited performance, they lacked quality in the final third, and they are still searching for their first home win since 6 December.
With 11 games to go, they are ninth in the table, but Monday’s defeat represents another missed opportunity for them to move into the European places.
It was a deeply frustrating night for Everton, and former referee Hackett was unimpressed with England, who didn’t have any control over the match.
Darren England comes under heavy fire for not punishing both sets of players
Hackett believes that David Moyes should be furious at England for failing to deal with both teams’ ill-discipline from corners.
Everton had a number of corners, but both sets of players continued to pull each other’s shirts and grapple off the ball, particularly in the final quarter of the game.
Speaking exclusively to Goodison News, the ex-PGMOL chief admits that the lack of action isn’t good enough, and more needs to be done to prevent teams from using aggressive tactics before set-piece situations.
He said: “The abject nonsense of PGMOL referees completely ignoring the foul tactics that are employed by teams in the penalty area at corner kicks. Holding, pulling, blocking, backing in.
“This is not football, and once again, the Everton versus Man United referee Darren England stood by and ignored.
“He is a referee capable and willing to apply the laws. It appears to me that his coaches and the boss want him to turn a blind eye.
“Football deserves better, the Premier League deserves better and fans around the world must wonder what our referees are doing.”
These words are certainly strong, but it was laughable how often England failed to address the shenanigans in the penalty box.
Referee let far too many incidents go in Everton vs Man United
The Toffees had 10 corners in the match, but they were frustrated by Man United’s resolute defending.
Hackett added: “It’s taken until the 83rd minute, where England decides to issue two yellow cards and then have a chat with both captains.
“It’s too late, referee! You should have taken strong action from the first corner kicks.”
| Team | Yellow cards |
| Everton | 2 |
| Man United | 3 |
Monday’s match was a clear indication that grappling from corners is a huge issue, and in this instance, England clearly struggled under the pressure.
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