Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has been speaking about the decision not to award Everton a penalty against Manchester City when Bernardo Silva pulled at Merlin Rohl
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes Manchester City could have had no complaints if a penalty had been awarded against them for Bernardo Silva holding Merlin Rohl as Everton took a corner-kick
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes Manchester City could have had no complaints if a penalty had been awarded against them for Bernardo Silva holding Merlin Rohl as Everton took a corner-kick
View Image
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher says the idea that Everton were not awarded a penalty against Manchester City because Bernardo Silva was pulling Merlin Rohl before the ball was in play does not stack up.
The Blues were held to a 3-3 draw by Pep Guardiola’s title chasers in a pulsating encounter at Hill Dickinson Stadium. However, while they made history by becoming the first Premier League team to concede a result-altering goal in stoppage time in a hat-trick of consecutive matches, they were also denied what manager David Moyes and many others felt should have been a spot-kick for the third straight fixture.
Everton were leading 3-2 when the Silva incident happened as City defended a corner and if the hosts had converted the penalty, they would have restored their two-goal lead. Referee Michael Oliver did not act upon the grappling though and while VAR did review it, Paul Howard, who was on duty at Stockley Park, chose not to send the on-field official to the pitchside monitor.
Gallagher still believes that Manchester City could have had no complaints if they had conceded a penalty though, even if “the ball is dead” when the action began.
Liverpool World quote the 68-year-old - who took charge of Everton’s 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in the 1995 Charity Shield at Wembley - as telling talkSPORT: “I see this and the one thing that bothers me – and I’m consistent about this – if a player doesn't look at the ball, he’s got his back to the ball at a corner, he’s only got one intention.
“Once he interlocks with another player, he runs a massive risk. If he gets penalised, he cannot complain.
“If the referee had given a penalty or VAR had spotted it and recommended giving a penalty, I don’t think anyone could complain. The only way to stamp it out is actually to penalise the defender because if you don’t, he will take a chance forever and a day.
“I listened to it (VAR) and they’re saying he interlocked when the ball’s dead, he can’t give a penalty when the ball is dead, but the ball was in the air. They say the majority of the incidence happened before the ball was in player, that infers some of it happened when the ball was in play.
“I’m hard and fast about this. If a defender interlocks with an attacker with his back to the ball and holds on to the attacker throughout the move, he runs a massive risk. If he gets penalised, he cannot argue.”