“Must be a foul”: Sky Sports pundits argue with an ex-PL referee over the Everton vs. Spurs incident
Sue Smith, Jay Bothroyd, and Dermot Gallagher got into an argument after Everton’s match against Tottenham on Saturday (3 February) ended without a penalty.
The veteran Premier League referee concurred with the officials that there wasn’t enough contact when Radu Dragusin shoved Beto in the closing moments of the game at Goodison Park, speaking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch on Monday, February 5.
Bothroyd added that the Toffees forward wasn’t permitted to go and jump for the ball and that it should have been a penalty in the 2-2 draw, but Smith insisted that there “must be a foul” on the 26-year-old Portuguese as the Spurs defender was pulling his shirt.
According to Gallagher, “the referee didn’t fancy it [as a penalty]”. “It’s obvious that the referee waves it off, therefore he feeds back to VAR that there wasn’t enough contact. Only in the event that they believe he has made a glaringly evident mistake can the VAR step in. It is not a penalty, in my opinion.
Smith said, “He would definitely just go to head the ball if he’s not fouled.” “A foul must have occurred. It’s evident that he is removing his shirt.
Bothroyd remarked, “It’s a cute play from the defender.” He tried to push him away by nudging him and yanking his shirt, which prevented him from jumping for it. That ought to have been penalized, in my opinion.
Sadly, Everton lost to Tottenham.
It was another game in which Dragusin obviously took hold of Beto’s jersey and bundled him to the ground, and Everton was very unlucky not to be given a penalty.
The forward could have scored a header for his team if he hadn’t been fouled, so there’s no reason why he wouldn’t have gone down.
This event is just another example of how the refereeing has let the fans down, and how little VAR has done to support the on-field referee in making the correct call.
Everton
It was regrettable that Beto did not receive a penalty kick for Everton against Tottenham.
There is no way that VAR could have overturned the decision if the referee had made that decision on the field because it was obvious as day.
After yet another mistake by the referees at Goodison Park, it’s almost time for the Toffees to concede that they won’t be receiving any penalties this season.
