Everton have appealed against the VAR-assisted red card Dominic Calvert-Lewin received at Crystal Palace.
The striker’s tackle on Nathaniel Clyne in the 79th minute of the goalless FA Cup third-round draw at Selhurst Park led to a VAR review. Calvert-Lewin was dismissed by Christopher Kavanagh for what was deemed to be a studs-up challenge once the referee had seen replays. Play had initially been allowed to run on.
In a statement, the club said: “Everton Football Club has today notified the FA of its decision to appeal the red card issued to Dominic Calvert-Lewin in our FA Cup third round fixture at Crystal Palace on Thursday evening.”
Calvert-Lewin would be expected to serve a three-match ban, pending the appeal, for the first red card of his career, which comes with Everton a point above the Premier League relegation zone, after their points deduction. The team host Aston Villa and play at Fulham either side of their Cup replay, though the third match of the potential ban would be a fourth-round tie should Palace be beaten in the rematch.
After the game, Sean Dyche was scathing about the decision and the VAR process. “I remain a fan but it’s beginning to test my patience,” Everton’s manager said. “It seems a bit confused at the moment. I think we’re all aware it needs tidying up. I thought it was getting tidied up but it seems to have stepped back a little bit.”
Dyche continued: “If you slow down everything, you’re going to find what you are looking for,” before criticising pitchside monitor checks. “Every fan out there must be going: ‘What is the point?’ We all know the outcome, which is that [the referees] are going to agree with what they are being told. I don’t get all this delaying and looking at the screen for a minuscule chance they’ll turn it over. Why even bother?”
Roy Hodgson was sympathetic. “I think it’s unfortunate for Calvert-Lewin,” the Crystal Palace manager said. “It certainly wasn’t a vicious foul by any stretch of the imagination but I thought the referee refereed the game quite well. If the decision was a red card, I’m not prepared to come out and say it definitely was or wasn’t. It’s a modern-day situation.”
