Dominic Calvert-Lewin's goal was harshly disallowed in the second half of Everton's 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on Saturday; goal was initially awarded until VAR recommended an on-field review; Mike Dean told Soccer Saturday there was not enough evidence to overturn the decision
Sunday 24 December 2023 08:03, UK
Sean Dyche was left to rue a controversial VAR call which contributed to Everton's four-game winning run coming to an end at Tottenham, labelling the decision to overrule Dominic Calvert-Lewin's second-half strike as "re-refereeing" the game.
Richarlison scored for the third consecutive match to haunt old club Everton and ensure Tottenham would spend Christmas in the Premier League's top four thanks to a hard-fought 2-1 home win.
It was harsh on Sean Dyche's visitors, who created the better of the chances in the capital and crucially had a Calvert-Lewin effort ruled out following a VAR review in the 51st minute which could have changed the complexion of the match.
Calvert-Lewin's strike was disallowed after Everton were penalised when Andre Gomes was adjudged to have fouled Tottenham's Emerson Royal in the build-up.
Dyche said on the game's second-half flashpoint: "I'm a big fan of VAR but I don't know where that one lives today because I think VAR has over-reffed the moment. The referee and the linesperson has an amazing view, they've made the decision with all their experience of doing it. It goes out of the window because they can find contact.
"They find contact with virtually everything. The amount of contact in the game we all know is alarming. They favour a penalty when someone has stepped on a toe. When you are stood on when you're in the queue to get onto the tube, you don't fall over. Apparently, that's a penalty nowadays.
"My question is where is the line between trusting the on-field decision and the referee's instinct in what they're doing. Many people will disagree as they will say there is contact, but if I'm the person in the VAR room I am looking at the referee's position as well, the linesperson's position and thinking what view have they got.
"Their views were perfect. It was the perfect moment for them to be allowed to referee the game. VAR cannot be refereeing every moment. Nearly every touch is a foul. In that moment, there's not enough contact for me for a mature professional footballer to go down. The game has got to be really careful, and I've said it for years.
"You've got to think it would've had an effect because of the way we were playing. The feeling in the stadium would have got nervous, but you never know. I've not got a crystal ball, but goals do change games and I'd have had a strong feeling of us getting something from the game."
Speaking on Soccer Saturday, former Premier League referee Mike Dean said at the time: "It's a small contact but not enough to overturn it. It's minimal contact. It's very, very soft."
Former Tottenham defender Michael Dawson agreed, adding: "I didn't think it was a foul."
While the decision favoured Spurs, Everton would eventually reduce the deficit but ultimately the hosts clung on to record a third straight league win that propels them into the top four.
Everton also hit the crossbar deep into added time through substitute Arnaut Danjuma, whose effort was then cleared by goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario before it could cross the line. Although the offside flag was raised, the goal would have been given on VAR review as Danjuma was marginally onside.
"It looks like a reaction, but I thought we started really well," added Dyche. "We gave away two soft goals, but we created chances and looked a threat on the counter. Our tactical idea was good. You have to believe you're 2-0 down but I was scratching my head.
"That was arguably my most proud performance and I'm coming on 11 months now. We continued to ask questions. Bizarrely we come away with nothing, but it was an outstanding performance."
Those missed chances cost the away side and enabled Ange Postecoglou's team make it three wins in a row after first-half goals by Richarlison and Heung-Min Son, with Andre Gomes' late effort a mere consolation.
The hosts played the second half without Cristian Romero, with the Argentine defender forced off with a hamstring injury.
Speaking afterwards, Postecoglou was pleased with his side's resilience.
"We've got players playing out of position," said Postecoglou, who agreed with the VAR decision to award Royal a free-kick for a foul for Calvert-Lewin's disallowed goal.
"Eric (Dier) has come on at half-time and the last time he played would have been weeks ago, but at the same time I think a lot of their chances came from balls into the box and being very aggressive which they're good at.
"Sometimes you've just got to defend and we did. Vic was outstanding today [Saturday] with a couple of brilliant saves. He's been brilliant from day one for us, and we haven't always needed him like we did today. Other times it's probably one or two saves a game, if that, but he's been important in our build-up and in our organisation. But today we needed his goalkeeping.
"It wasn't just the saves he makes. They're so strong from corners and put so much pressure on the goalkeeper, and I thought he stood up really well.
"Obviously the result is very pleasing against a very difficult opponent today in Everton, who have been the form team of the competition for the past few weeks.
"You can see why today, they worked hard and we kind of got on top of them in the first half, apart from our goals our football was good. We looked really threatening and then after we got 2-0 ahead, we just eased back a little bit and I thought that allowed them to get back into the game.
"We just took a bit more time on the ball and some of it was because of them. They kept working hard and in the second half it became something of a transitional game.
"We had to show some resilience and some strong defending in the box and a couple of outstanding saves from Vic, who was brilliant again today. It had a little bit of everything. A different type of performance from us. I guess the pleasing thing for us is that we got the three points."
Tottenham go to Brighton on Wednesday; kick-off 7.30pm. Ange Postecoglou's side's final fixture of 2023 is a home match against Bournemouth on New Year's Eve; kick-off 2pm.
Everton are next in action on Wednesday as they host newly-crowned world champions Manchester City; kick-off 8.15pm. The Toffees then face a trip to Molineux as they take on Wolves on December 30; kick-off 3pm.
