Video Assistant Referee was blasted again after Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin was shown a harsh red against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup.
The striker was given marching orders after VAR urged the referee, Chris Kavanagh, to have a look at the pitchside monitor.
The striker slid in on Nathaniel Clyne in an attempt to win the ball and although it seemed that he had won the ball with minimal contact on Clyne, Kavanagh took out the red card, much to the surprise of the entire Everton bench.
Infuriated Everton fans slammed the decision as disgraceful, while skipper Seamus Coleman also slammed VAR for its role.
“When you slow it down it is obviously going to look bad,” Coleman told ITV.
“From where I was it was a good tackle.
“I saw the replay after and don’t know who the fingers need to be pointed at, as soon as the ref goes over there [to the screen] you know he is going to give a red card.
“Listen, it has been a big talking point.
“For me, that is not a red card, and it is another decision that goes against us that maybe won’t be talked about as much.”
Meanwhile, Jeff Stelling, the former Soccer Saturday presenter and Hartlepool United President, said:Â “Seriously a red card for Calvert Lewin?
“Does anybody honestly believe the game is better for VAR?
“Makes you weep how the governing bodies/PGMOL are destroying our beloved game”.
A State Of Confusion
It was Calvert-Lewin’s first red card of his career in an otherwise dull snoozefest at Selhurst Park on Thursday evening.
Everton boss, Sean Dyche, also ripped apart VAR for forcing the red card as the studs had hardly made contact with Clyne’s shin.
“‘I haven’t asked Dominic Calvert-Lewin [about the red].
“The slow motion shows a different picture,” he said.
“‘If you want to slow-mo everything, you have to slow-mo everything.
“There could have been a penalty on Beto.
“There’s minor contact, in live time he doesn’t give anything, then they slow it down and everything looks worse [in] slow [motion]
‘It seems a bit confused at the moment.
“I said recently, we had another one, where I said I don’t know who is refereeing which.
“I am a fan, (but) I definitely think we’re all aware it needs tidying up.
“Also, I thought it was getting tidied up, and then it seems to have stepped back a bit,” he added.
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“I remain a fan at this stage, but it is beginning to test my patience even because I look at the obvious offsides which I think are fair, that should be there, some of the others I’m going well, what’s got a chance now of being let play and what’s got a chance of being called, but we don’t actually know.”
