I don’t understand why Everton supporters claim the referee cheated them during the Merseyside Derby on Saturday.
Konate should have received a second yellow card, and that was the lone decision that went against Everton. The referee erred there, but don’t forget that he also erred badly when he awarded us a penalty. Even though it was obvious as day, the decision had to go to VARDue to all the fuss the club made when Luis Diaz’s goal at Tottenham Hotspur last month was ruled to have been offside, many people have suggested that Liverpool was the beneficiary of judgments that were made in their favor. If that were the case, then why didn’t Craig Pawson penalize us for Michael Keane’s handball? As the commentator, I could see it from 200 yards away, up in the stands. The referee didn’t see it, but everyone else in the stadium did? This disproves the claim made by Evertonians that it was only approved after a VAR review.
Before that, when Nathan Patterson took out Luis Diaz inside the box, we might have been entitled to another penalty that was just ignored and not called. While officiating the match, the referee made three mistakes: not awarding the Luis Diaz penalty, giving Konate a second yellow, and delaying the awarding of the Keane penalty kick.
I haven’t seen an Everton team that deep and defensive in a long time, but they didn’t have much ambition at all during the game, which I can understand given how far apart the teams are. They had no desire to move forward. They expected a 0-0 draw, but they ought to have been playing more aggressively. By doing what they did, they paid a wonderful compliment to Liverpool, and if anything, they showed us too much respect. Sean Dyche desired to accomplish that; it is now up to him.
To be honest, the Evertonians must have had higher expectations. They are currently in that location, and we are aware of our location, which is not far from the top of table.Â
