Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Thu 2 April 2026 20:10, UK

Everton have been told they should have conceded a penalty against Chelsea for James Tarkowski’s foul on Wesley Fofana.

That is according to the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel, following Everton’s 3-0 win over Chelsea on 21 March.

David Moyes‘ side were three up thanks to a brace from Beto and Iliman Ndiaye, before Fofana claimed for a penalty in the 85th minute.

Instead, the raucous fans at Hill Dickinson Stadium breathed a sigh of relief, and Tarkowski may have done the same, as they secured a thumping victory.

The game was practically won at that point, but perhaps things could have been different if the officials had awarded Chelsea a spotkick in Everton’s latest win.

James Tarkowski should have conceded penalty

According to the KMI Panel, via BBC Sport, this Everton-Chelsea incident was the sole on-field error that was recorded in the latest round of Premier League fixtures.

The report states there were three votes to award Chelsea a penalty for Tarkowski’s contact with Fofana, while two voted against it.

They say Tarkowski had “physically disengaged” from Fofana, before swinging “an arm into the chest” of the Chelsea man.

And, no VAR intervention of the incident was supported by three votes to two.

Everton fans won’t care a great deal about this development as they won the game comfortably and remain eighth in the Premier League table.

Ahead of a crunch clash with seventh-placed Brentford, the Toffees are outside the top seven on goal difference as they bid to reach Europe for the first time since 2018.

Everton’s ups and downs with VAR

Everton have ridden their luck at times with VAR this season, but equally, they have been left frustrated in this regard.

In the first half of the campaign, it was later deemed by the panel that they should have had a penalty against Arsenal when William Saliba caught Thierno Barry in the box in a 1-0 loss.

On the flip side, Hugo Bueno should have been awarded a spotkick after a challenge from Ndiaye in a 3-2 win at Molineux, so it has worked both ways.

According to BBC Sport, after the first 19 games of the season, Everton were minus three on net goals, as VAR decisions went against them.

As the battle for European football heats up, Everton fans will hope VAR decisions don’t make or break their season, with only seven games left to play.