Frank Lampard questioned two major decisions that were pivotal in Everton's sickening defeat to Brentford, arguing the game turned on the failure to give the Blues a penalty.
Richarlison clearly had his shirt pulled by Kristoffer Ajer as he battled for the ball in the away side's box while the hosts were looking to build on their early lead. The referee, Michael Oliver, turned down the Brazil star's appeals and Ivan Toney latched onto the clearance that followed - only to be brought down by Jarrad Branthwaite.
The young defender was sent off - a red card Lampard accepted was the correct decision. But he argued the attack should not have developed because play should have been stopped for an Everton penalty.
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He also argued the visitors should have been down to 10 men when Mads Bech Sorensen gave away a penalty later in the game. The player had already been booked but Oliver declined to give him a second yellow card. Asked if that was worthy of further punishment, Lampard responded: "Yes [it was a second yellow card]".
Speaking after the 3-2 defeat, Lampard said: "Today changed on the face of the [Branthwaite] red card."
Of the incident involving Richarlison seconds before Branthwaite's sending off, he said: "I thought is was a penalty. It was a clear shirt pull. It was a foul. It was in the box. If you are asking me should Richarlison go down for it, then you are asking people to fall on the floor. My players get criticised when they shouldn't do, in my opinion recently, for going down for fouls that are fouls and so I think that was a penalty."
Lampard, facing an FA disciplinary probe over his comments from the Merseyside derby, in which he argued Anthony Gordon should have received a penalty, said he accepted match officials had a difficult job. But he added controversial decisions keep appearing to go against his side.
He explained: "When I spoke about Anfield, I wasn't speaking about Stuart Attwell [the referee at that match]. I wasn't speaking about individuals. I was speaking about pressure situations and how it changes people, and Anfield is a different animal but today, for me, it was pretty clear when you see that shirt pull. That's a foul anywhere on the pitch.
"I think it doesn't matter, this clear and obvious phrase, I don't know if it still counts or not, but it's a nonsense - clear and obvious, the decision is either right or it is wrong and if a referee can't see it clearly, or they are in the wrong position, and they get the benefit of someone else [to check] - they don't have to tell them about a benefit of the doubt in the middle, it's right or wrong. Is a shirt pull a foul? Yes. Is it in box? Yes. It's a penalty.
"I've got a lot of respect for the referee and the VARs and all the rest because they do one of the toughest jobs. I watched the Man City game earlier and the referee had to run to a screen and make a decision on a penalty that is probably going to effect the title race and they have to make it. Fair play to them.
"The reality is we are on the bad end of a lot of decisions this season and that is just a reality.
"And that is hard because I have to represent the club and I have to represent the fans who come here and those small margins can effect our position and I do believe that a penalty on the shirt pull means maybe 2-0 and 11 men, and I think we all know how that game goes."
