The Toffees seemed to have control with a 2-0 lead at Goodison Park, but the game shifted in the second half as Bruno Fernandes and summer signing Manuel Ugarte brought the visitors level.
It appeared that Everton would have a golden opportunity to win when Ashley Young was brought down in the penalty box, prompting referee Andy Madley to award a penalty in injury time. ..Continue Reading
United goalkeeper Andre Onana had parried a shot, and Young moved to get the rebound before being challenged by Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire.
Madley initially deemed it a foul but was asked by VAR to review the incident on the pitchside monitor, ultimately overturning the penalty decision.
Judging the incident was difficult, as there was contact from both Manchester United players, although Young did fall rather dramatically.
The notion that Madley made a clear and obvious error seems absurd, making the VAR intervention surprising.
Halsey believes that Madley was let down by not being shown all the angles of the incident, particularly the view from behind the goal, which clearly showed De Ligt holding Young’s shirt. Had he seen that, a penalty would likely have been awarded.
‘The decision to overturn a penalty awarded to Everton near the end of their 2-2 draw with Manchester United was clearly wrong,’ Halsey told The Sun.
‘VAR Matt Donohue should not have got involved because referee Andy Madley’s on-field call was in no way a clear and obvious error.
‘When Madley went to the monitor on the advice of VAR he was then shown the wrong footage.
‘They failed to take into account that Matthijs de Ligt had pulled Young back by the shirt. And had Madley been shown footage filmed from behind the goal he would have seen this. The incident was embarrassing.’
Former Manchester United striker Michael Owen shared the same sentiment, believing that overturning the decision was reasonable based on the view Madley was shown, but it might have been different if he had seen other angles.
‘They’ve not looked at the right angle, in my opinion,’ Owen told Premier League Productions.
‘If everything which we’ve seen in real time during the game, if that’s the angle the referee has been given then I don’t blame the referee for saying no.
‘But he’s not been given the angle, he needs to be given the angle from behind the goal, zoomed in.
‘From that angle [the referee was given by VAR] it just looks like a dive, I agree with the referee, can’t give a penalty on that evidence.
‘The VAR has let the referee down, in my opinion there. He’s not given him all the various angles that you need to form a full opinion of whether that’s a foul or not.
‘He’s given him one angle across the 18-yard box and given it to him ten times. He can see that after one replay, show him the whole lot, give him three, four, five angles.
‘This one [the angle behind the goal] is the only one he needs and it’s the only one he doesn’t get.
‘There are two angles that showed the shirt pull, not one of the replays showed the shirt pull and he’s going from side-on.
‘VAR is to blame, not the referee. VAR didn’t give him the right angle.’
Everton manager David Moyes was very surprised to see the original decision changed and could not see how Madley made a clear and obvious error.
‘I can’t understand. [De Ligt] pulled his jersey,’ said the Scot. ‘I just thought the referee made the correct decision at the time and he should stick with it.
‘I think everybody who watches football, we’re all looking forward to seeing a referee saying “No, no I’m sticking with it”.
‘If it’s absolutely clear and obvious that’s what we’ve got VAR for, but I didn’t think it needed to get involved.’
