There was controversy in the first of the FA Cup third-round fixtures on Thursday, when our blue neighbours were reduced to 10 men in disputable circumstances.
Everton were forced to hang on for a 0-0 draw away to Crystal Palace and earn themselves a replay, despite losing striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin to a red card with 10 minutes of normal time left on the clock.
Calvert-Lewin challenged former Reds full-back Nathaniel Clyne for the ball in the second half, clipping the defender’s leg on the way through.
While the tackle initially went unpunished, VAR later deemed it to have been a dangerous one as slow-motion footage showed that the No. 9’s studs were showing.
Such misfortune is always greeted warmly by Liverpool supporters, but even they were willing to admit that the dismissal was harsh given the minimal contact between the two players.
Let’s take a look at some of the reaction to a contentious decision at Selhurst Park.
Here’s how the media responded to the incident…
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is getting a three-game ban for a tackle that wasn’t excessive force, never raised an eyebrow in real time and never had a flicker of complaint from anyone on the opposing side. We may as well give up now. Pathetic
— Dominic King (@DominicKing_DM) January 4, 2024
Easy to see why so many football fans are done with the way VAR is being operated here after farcical Calvert-Lewin red card. No foul given. Barely an appeal. Referee not refereeing the game any more. When was the last time an official went to the screen & stuck with a decision?
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) January 5, 2024
When even the opposition players are saying it’s a shit decision, then it illustrates clearly just how the VAR process has completely lost its way. #PALEVE#EFC
— David Maddock (@MaddockMirror) January 4, 2024
????? Never a red. https://t.co/h8dj8jMuy5
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) January 4, 2024
#EFC surely appeal Calvert-Lewin’s red. He neither endangered opponent nor used excessive force. Webb @FA_PGMOL has to restore confidence of on-field refs to back themselves, deliver some consistency as worse challenges get only yellow and invest even more in improving standards.
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) January 5, 2024
Roy Hodgson raised the VAR point after Palace’s defeat at Chelsea… VAR isn’t there to re-referee, it’s there to spot obvious mistakes. Calvert-Lewin wasn’t. You can make any still or slowed down image do what you want… it was a really bad decision. https://t.co/krcl5nInMA
— John Cross (@johncrossmirror) January 5, 2024
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.
— Jeff Stelling (@JeffStelling) January 4, 2024
Reds siding with Blues, that’s when you know things need to change…
I genuinely hope that DCL decision is the kind that finally trumps tribalism and allows everyone in football to say “This is isn’t how we want it to be”.
— Mo Stewart (@The_Mighty_Mojo) January 4, 2024
Not a red for me, Clive. Tellingly none of the players on either side seemed to think so either.
— Gareth Roberts (@robbohuyton) January 4, 2024
Could you, technically, give a red card for the Calvert-Lewin challenge? Yes (any player who lunges from the side with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent).
Should you, really, on the basis of the offence as seen give a RC for the Calvert-Lewin challenge? No.
— David Phillips (@lovefutebol) January 4, 2024
Branthwaite got thrown into the advertising boards yet VAR is checking a nick on Clyne’s leg by Calvert-Lewin. Will be a painful one but not sure it’s a red card.
— James Nalton (@JDNalton) January 4, 2024
That is not a red card. Never in a million years.
— keith costigan (@KeithCostigan) January 4, 2024
Var ?????????
look at it once maybe twice and if you see your on field decision was a clear and obvious mistake…change your mind #ref
Watch it 10 or more times?! Not what VAR is about surely! Not having that as a red card!! #FACup— Neil Mellor (@NeilMellor33) January 4, 2024
You will never eradicate the element of subjectivity in some decisions but you simply cannot defend this. Put a 100 people in a room and they’ll tell you it’s nowhere near a red but some incompetent dudes in Stockley Park think DCL is out of control. If there is no true… https://t.co/Y2dSaNAN8q
— AsimLFC (@asim_lfc) January 4, 2024
I actually do feel for Everton fans regarding DCL sending off.
But they had a chance to stand up for these dodgy decisions a while back and told us to get on with it and accept that mistakes happen and it evens itself out in the end
— M (@LFC__Missy) January 4, 2024
See this is where tribalism should be put to one side and as fans we should come together and want to raise the standards of officials. This is honestly ridiculous.
We will get some nonsense from Mike Dean or someone to explain “leave my mate alone, it’s the laws of the game” https://t.co/wPYCdqMAZr
— Threads For Reds (@ThreadsForReds) January 4, 2024
I for one feel Everton were quite hard done by last night. The red card and the possible penalty were both looked at by VAR however, the officials are “only human”, “make mistakes” and now you just “have to get on with it”. I believe that’s what we’ve been told all season, right?
— jules (@Julian_Lee76) January 5, 2024
Officiating is worse under Webb than Riley. Something we never thought we would say. The DCL Red has to be rescinded. David Coote makes a colossally bad decision on the Odegaard handball. Nothing said. He gets a LC semi. Calamitous management of the @FA_PGMOL under Webb. Awful. pic.twitter.com/nnuXQmPS1n
— Mike Wilson* (@Redsmail) January 5, 2024
While it is easy to enjoy the debacle, Liverpool fans quite rightly pointed out after the VAR mistake at Tottenham back in September that setting tribalism to one side is the best method to elicit change.
Refereeing standards have been severely scrutinised at various points this season, with the introduction of technology seemingly not doing its job in eliminating errors.
Everton will have the opportunity to rectify the mishap in a replay later this month, but many clubs are not fortunate enough to get that chance.
Let’s see if the latest misdemeanour is enough to prompt the PGMOL into making some improvements. We’re not holding our breath!
