Sean Dyche spoke extensively about his decision to send off striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin in Everton’s FA Cup match against Crystal Palace.
Following Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s questionable sending off in the goalless draw at Crystal Palace, Everton boss Sean Dyche has asked for more consistency with VAR.
Calvert-Lewin was sent off in the third round of the FA Cup at Selhurst Park after catching Nathaniel Clyne with a raised boot despite the free-kick not being delivered in real time. “I just think it is in an odd place,” Dyche remarked, “and I will try to explain myself.” When you slow something like that down, it seems a lot worse than when you witness it live.
“I’ve seen it both of course, it doesn’t look that bad, but if you slow it down it’s high but there’s minimal contact. I know you can’t judge a player but he’s certainly not that type of player, that’s for sure.
“Then you go, ‘right, okay’, live the ref gives nothing but then of course it’s pulled back. Then you go, ‘right, let’s start slowing it down’.”
“The bigger picture point for me is Beto clearly gets pulled to the floor with two arms around his waist, so why do not they slow-mo that?” asked the Blues leader. I have seen the slow-mo if it is the same.
“So when the slow-mo happens and the ball drops in front of him, the player has got to arms around his waist. What they’ll say, I guarantee is, ‘yeah, but if you look at it live, he doesn’t hold on to him long enough’.
“I bet that will be the feedback. They go, ‘well, if you look at that live, yeah, it’s not that bad’. So where? What’s the parity? We all know the penalty thing when you get the end of someone’s toe and they go down and that’s okay but you grab someone round their waist and that’s not.
“If they’re going to start slowing everything down then we’ve got to have parity. If you slow that down and freeze frame that, it’s a penalty.”
“I bet that will be the feedback. They go, ‘well, if you look at that live, yeah, it’s not that bad’. So where? What’s the parity? We all know the penalty thing when you get the end of someone’s toe and they go down and that’s okay but you grab someone round their waist and that’s not.
“If they’re going to start slowing everything down then we’ve got to have parity. If you slow that down and freeze frame that, it’s a penalty.”
Referee Chris Kavanagh first decided to play on, but altered his mind after being allowed to review the event on a pitchside monitor. Dyche believed the decision was inevitable from that point on and stated, “I have no idea what that is there for.”
I hope I am not just speaking for myself, but every fan must ask themselves, ‘what is the point?’ because we all know the consequence, which is that they agree with whatever they are taught, unless someone can tell me ten occasions when they don’t.
“I don’t know what the stats are but the chances of something getting turned over are miniscule so don’t bother. Let’s just get on with it, afterwards we might debate it but what’s the point in doing it there and then unless you change it?
“We’ve had all sorts already by the way. VAR moments where you go, ‘how is that?’ You explain it afterwards but where does it live? (Anthony) Martial at home to us, a penalty, you can clearly see his legs collapsing before there is any contact but then they go ‘yeah, but there was a contact’,
“If you slow down everything, you’re going to find what you’re looking for. I’m a fan of VAR but I just don’t get all this delaying and looking at the screen for a miniscule chance they’ll turn it over.”
He added: “VAR seems a bit confused at the moment. We’re unsure, we’ve had a number this season where I don’t know who is refereeing and while I am a fan, I think it needs tidying up and for whatever reason I thought it was getting tidied up but it seems to have stepped back a little bit.
“I remain a fan at this stage but it is beginning to test my patience. Apart from the offsides that are obvious, what’s got a chance now of being let play and what’s got a chance of getting called back – we don’t actually know. We just keep our fingers crossed and hope that we get on the right side of it and we generally haven’t.”
When asked if Everton will appeal the ruling, Dyche said, “We will see.” I will double-check the process, but in the end, it is one of those risk/reward decisions: is it worth it or not?
“I don’t think anyone even knows what’s going to happen with these decisions now. Certainly tonight it was one where I didn’t know and then after seeing it I went, ‘where does that live?’ We’ll see, we’ll analyse it and get an outside view and then we’ll decide.”
READ ALSO; Everton Expresses Interest in £17m ‘Revelation’ Who Left Sadio Mane ‘Really Impressed’
