The Toffees were denied a late spot-kick in a meeting with Manchester City, with an explanation demanded from those in charge of match officials
Everton manager Frank Lampard and club chairman Bill Kenwright have been contacted by PGMOL referee chief Mike Riley on the back of a controversial call that denied the Toffees a late penalty in their last Premier League outing against Manchester City.
The Merseyside outfit were left incensed when handball shouts against Blues midfielder Rodri were waved away by Paul Tierney, with VAR checks siding with the on-field team of match officials.
First-team coach Ashley Cole was shown a post-match yellow card as a result of his complaints, Lampard blasted the apparent incompetence of those charged with the task of making big calls and chief executive Denise Barret-Baxendale wrote to top-flight chief football officer Tony Scholes demanding an explanation.
What has happened?
Riley has now contacted Lampard and Kenwright in a bid to explain how and why certain decisions were reached towards the end of a dramatic encounter at Goodison Park on February 26.
The Toffees are understood to “appreciate the acknowledgement” but remain less than satisfied at the outcome of an unfortunate sequence of events that cost them a priceless point in an ongoing bid to avoid relegation out of the Premier League.
There is a feeling on the blue half of Merseyside that they have been on the wrong end of too many questionable calls this season, with the incident in a 1-0 reversal against City being far from the first to incur their wrath.
During a 2-0 loss away at Southampton on February 19, Everton were denied another penalty following an apparent handball inside the box by Saints midfielder Oriol Romeu – with VAR also turning a blind eye to those shouts.
The Toffees also took issue with the decision to overturn the awarding of a spot-kick during a meeting with Tottenham in November, with Richarlison ready to tap into an empty net before the whistle blew and backtracking began.
