Everton beat Coventry 3-1 on Merseyside on Friday Night Football, but the scoreline was framed by three Coventry VAR decisions that all went against the visitors. Frank Lampard said the review system "didn't do its job" after two penalty appeals and a handball check produced nothing.
Yann Gboho put Coventry ahead. Thierno Barry scored twice for Everton and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall made it 3-1, but the second-half goals arrived after the officiating had already become the story.
Coventry VAR decisions
Two Coventry penalty appeals and a possible handball before Everton's second goal were reviewed by VAR officials Timothy Wood and Gary Beswick. Referee Stuart Attwell awarded none of them on the field, and none was overturned.
James Tarkowski and Caleb Yirenkyi
Late in the first half Tarkowski rose to defend a high ball and caught Ethan Pinnock with an elbow before appearing to pull the hair of Caleb Yirenkyi. VAR reviewed the incident, with attention on the elbow, and issued no card and no penalty.
The Premier League Match Centre issued no communication on whether the hair pull itself was checked. Summer guidance states a red card follows "a clear and deliberate action to pull an opponent's hair with excessive force and/or brutality", with a yellow card where force is not excessive.
Vitalii Mykolenko and Taiwo Awoniyi
At the start of the second half Awoniyi drove into the box with Mykolenko behind him and went down under contact from behind. Attwell gave no penalty, and the VAR review judged the contact to have taken place outside the box.
Thierno Barry's second goal
Barry bundled in Tyrique George's cross to give Everton the lead, the ball bouncing unpredictably in the area. VAR checked the goal and found no conclusive evidence of handball. Wood's deliberation, later broadcast, was: "Okay, that's his side, that's definitely not hand. Confirming on-field decision of goal."
Frank Lampard on the decisions
Lampard said he accepted the general flow of the game but drew a line at the reviews. "I hate to sound like a moaner. It's a football match and if you win the game, that can happen here. I've worked here and know the momentum swings in the game," he told Sky Sports.
"I'm not trying to talk about the circumstances of the actual football, but when big decisions change games, they absolutely do. It's disappointing. VAR is there for that and it didn't do its job."
On Tarkowski, he said: "The first-half decision on Tarkowski got checked. Seeing it back, he pulls on Caleb's hair while competing with Ethan. I thought the rules were clear. I know they've changed the rules so it's no red card, I get that too. But he's pulling on his hair and [Yirenkyi] can't get his momentum to jump. I think it's a foul and a penalty and they decided no."
On Awoniyi, Lampard said: "I thought the one on Taiwo running through - it's a clear foul that the referee doesn't give in-game. I can't believe that because it's clear. Maybe he waited for VAR because it was on the borderline."
On Barry's goal, he said: "Barry's second goal comes off his hand... His last touch flicks it in the net. It was a really quick check as well. People may disagree, but it's my opinion."
Pundits split on the incidents
Jamie Redknapp, working on Friday Night Football, called the Tarkowski hair pull a penalty. "Yirenkyi goes up, Tarkowski gets hold of his hair. He yanks it down. Is it excessive force? Probably not, but he pulls his hair, stopping any elevation. It's a definite penalty for me," he said.
Co-commentator Lee Hendrie said: "There's a clear pull... Tarkowski is in the heart of this. There's an elbow, which isn't a problem, but the hair pull will raise awareness."
Redknapp was stronger on the Mykolenko challenge. "It's a definite penalty and it's rubbish from the VAR. It's a poor decision. It's a definite foul, they rush it too quickly, and his foot's on the line," he said.
On the Barry goal, Redknapp reached a different conclusion but accepted the review threshold. "We've looked at it forensically and I do think it touches his hand. But when you're asking VAR to intervene and disallow the goal, it's difficult," he said.
Barry was unmoved. "A goal is goal! I scored two goals today... It's the job of the striker to score. I'm in a good moment and I try to keep this feeling," he said.
David Moyes responds
The Everton manager said he understood the complaints while pointing to his own recent experience. "I'm bothered because we want it [the result] to be right, but we've had a few decisions recently where we don't think have gone our way," Moyes told Sky Sports.
"Sometimes they go for you, sometimes they don't. If they were going against me, I'd be complaining a bit more."
Analysis: where the game was decided
This is analysis, not reported fact. Everton's winning margin was built on a second goal that survived a review on a threshold of conclusive evidence rather than certainty, and a defensive duel that was judged on force rather than contact. Both are calculated probability collapses: outcomes settled by which question the officials asked, not by whether an offence occurred.
This report draws on the original match coverage from skysports.com.
