Everton’s hopes were dashed in their highly anticipated return to Premier League action against Brighton, as a VAR glitch led to the overturning of a penalty decision. The Toffees, trailing 1-0 after Kaoru Mitoma’s goal, seemed to have a lifeline when Dominic Calvert-Lewin was fouled in the box by Lewis Dunk. Referee Simon Hooper initially pointed to the spot, only for the decision to be thrown into confusion after VAR intervention.
Despite Hooper being unable to view the incident on the pitchside monitor, a back-up screen was quickly utilized to review the play. This led to the penalty being cancelled, much to the dismay of the Everton faithful. The Premier League later clarified the process, indicating that the foul initially awarded to Everton was deemed non-existent upon further review.
As Brighton extended their lead, with goals from Danny Welbeck and Simon Adingra, and had another goal disallowed by VAR after Yasin Ayari was deemed offside, Everton’s day went from bad to worse. Furthermore, Everton’s Ashley Young was shown a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity, adding to their woes on the day.
Despite the disappointment and setbacks, Everton must regroup and focus on their upcoming fixtures in order to bounce back from this disappointing loss. The VAR controversy and subsequent decisions will undoubtedly be points of discussion, but Everton must look ahead and strive for better performances in the future.
