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Everton robbed again by VAR

By Matt Townsend

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 01: Carlo Ancelotti, Manager of Everton confronts Referee Chris Kavanagh during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Manchester United at Goodison Park on March 01, 2020 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 01: Carlo Ancelotti, Manager of Everton confronts Referee Chris Kavanagh during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Manchester United at Goodison Park on March 01, 2020 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images) /
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Carlo Ancelotti was sent off for protesting as Everton had a winning goal bizarrely ruled out by VAR and the Blues were robbed of two vital points in this afternoon’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United.

Once again Everton have been on the wrong end of the VAR system, what an incredible surprise! It’s a real mystery isn’t it how this supposedly ‘unbiased’ technology always seems to work in favour of a select group of clubs in the Premier League?! It’s become frankly a sick joke.

So let’s deal with this issue first of all. The Blues had dominated the second half of the match and were pressing for a winner when Gylfi Sigurdsson went down in the penalty box looking as though he had been tripped.

As he lay on the pitch, Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s effort was deflected past David de Gea into the United goal, for what looked like an own-goal and the winner … or so we all thought.

Referee Chris Kavanagh, another of the seemingly endless line of awful officials the FA now employ, actually gave the goal and Goodison Park erupted.

Then came the VAR review and what do you know the goal was ruled out for ‘offside’ on Sigurdsson! There was no look at whether Sigurdsson had been fouled in the lead up to the goal, of course not.

The Icelander was lying prostrate on the ground so how could he be interfering with play or obstructing de Gea who couldn’t have got it anyway?? VAR has now reached a new low being used to rule out an own-goal when a player is lying on the ground. It’s utterly disgraceful.

An enraged Ancelotti confronted the ref and asked for an explanation and lo and behold he was shown a red card! I really hope Everton will lodge a formal protest about all this blatant bias, not that it would do any good even of they did.

So once again the Premier League have done their best to prevent the Toffees succeeding and another vital two points have slipped through the team’s fingers. I know it sounds like a slightly barmy conspiracy theory but it’s hard not to think that something is going on isn’t it?!

Early on in the game, Everton had started brightly and got a break when de Gea’s mistake, saw the ball cannon in off the legs of Calvert-Lewin, (who was superb all day), for a surprise opening goal just a few minutes in. The Blues had other chances too before halftime.

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United did respond quite well to going behind and their best player Bruno Fernandes fired in an equaliser half an hour later.

The Blues came out in determined mood for the second half and were much the better of the two sides. The home team created several good chances and Sigurdsson, having one of his better games, hit the woodwork on one occasion. Then came the notorious VAR incident at the end.

So where do the Toffees go from here? It’s hard enough to consistently win matches in the Premier League without having the feeling that the entire officialdom in that league are lined up against you as well!

I suppose the manager and players have to try to put this one behind them again and turn their attention to a trip to west London and Chelsea next weekend.