REUTERS/Ian Hodgson
Everton striker Thierno Barry saw a goal disallowed against Ipswich Town after Brennan Johnson was adjudged to have been in an offside position.
The Toffees secured a 1-0 victory over Ipswich after Barry diverted a long-range volley from James Tarkowski into the back of the net.
Everton opened the scoring after just 11 minutes and managed to hold on until the final whistle, despite a late onslaught from Gary O'Neil's side.
Everton thought they'd doubled their lead in the second half as Barry headed into the far corner from a Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall set-piece, but after a VAR review, Johnson was adjudged to have been in an offside position while obstructing the Ipswich goalkeeper.
There's no doubt that Johnson was in an offside position, but there's certainly a debate to be had when it comes to whether he was impacting the goal.
Speaking exclusively to GIVEMESPORT, former Premier League referee Graham Barber has had his say on whether the goal should have been disallowed.
Barber suggests that he can see why it wasn't given, suggesting that Johnson was putting himself in a position to give the referee a decision to make.
"I can see why it wasn't given. We all know that these days, particularly from set pieces, particularly corners, I think managers and coaches are going to have to rethink putting players to stand in front of the goalkeeper. Because that's where it all stems from to start with. A player's putting himself in a position where he could be fouling or obstructing the goalkeeper. So that's the first thing."
David Moyes
David Moyes
Barber then points out that the next part of the decision is subjective, personally feeling that he doesn't believe the goalkeeper would have made the save.
"The second thing is subjective, right? Personally, from a subjective point of view, I didn't think he would save it. But then you have to say as well that Brennan clearly moved towards the goalkeeper, and he actually put himself in front of the goalkeeper. And when you do that, you know you stand a chance of somebody turning out and saying you're in an offside position; you affected the outcome of the play. Whether you affected it or not, again, is subjective. It was perhaps a little bit harsh."
David Moyes mentioned consistency after the game, but Barber believes that you're never going to get consistency game after game.
Barber also suggests that although some will suggest he hasn't impeded the goalkeeper, the fact is, he has.
"David Moyes, I think he said after the game when he was talking about consistency, decisions like that will never be consistent over the season, and they won't because some will have a different opinion of that the next week. Somebody will say, 'The goalkeepers didn't have a chance of getting that ball, so how's he impeded the goalkeeper?' The fact is, he has impeded the goalkeeper.
"Whether the goalkeeper would have got that or not is subjective. So it's a difficult one. And again, would I turn around and say that the referee and the VAR were wrong on the day? They weren't wrong. It wasn't an obvious mistake. That situation did happen. That needs to be interpreted, and it was interpreted in favour of disallowing the goal."
It's certainly difficult for referees to come to a decision that everyone agrees on. When a decision is subjective, there is always going to be disagreements.