There was one moment dominating the headlines after Leeds United's narrow win against Premier League rivals Everton.
The Whites looked to be at it from minute one as the momentum from their dramatic Championship title win and a productive summer transfer window continued into the first game of their return to the top flight. With several new additions on display and the Whites famous old home rocking, Daniel Farke’s men pushed and pushed for an opening goal - but had to wait until the final ten minutes of the game to find a breakthrough.
There was an element of controversy about the decision that led to the goal as Toffees defender James Tarkowski was ruled to have handled a powerful shot from Whites new boy Anton Stach. Referee Chris Kavanagh paused and took advice from one of his assistants before giving a penalty that was verified by a VAR check. Tarkowski was left bemused by the decision as Lukas Nmecha dispatched the spot kick with ease to mark his Whites debut with the only goal of the game.
Speaking after the game to Sky Sports, Tarkowski said: “It’s not a penalty and as soon as the referee blew, I was pretty confident it was going to get overturned. My question to him was if my arm was by my side, which it was, is it a penalty? He said no and I’ve since read I leaned into the ball - but there’s nothing unnatural about my arm being at my side so the ball is allowed to hit your arm, it’s just not allowed to be away from your body unnaturally, which is wasn’t, so I can’t understand it really.”
The fixture was shown live on Sky Sports Monday Night Football and former Premier League stars Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville both had their say on the decision. Here is what they had to say.
What did Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville say about Leeds United’s penalty in their win against Everton?
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Carragher: “The big talking point is is it a handball? I think it is, I think he knows what he’s doing James Tarkowski, and it’s something I would do. The only think I’m thinking is has he lost his bearings? He’s in the middle of the goal but it’s a split-second decision. Obviously it’s not going to cause too much danger, it takes a late deflection and maybe it’s just reflexes.”
Neville: “I think it’s definitely a penalty, I think because of the distance it’s travelled. James Tarkowski is the type of defender that feels he needs to get in front of every single shot and what I mean by that is that he maybe could have just composed himself, let that ball go through to Jordan Pickford, who is right behind him and would have saved it. The guilt written all over Tarkowski’s face, he knows it’s a penalty, he’s blocked it from such a distance.”
Carragher: “What’s interesting here, just keep an eye on all of the Everton players now besides Tarkowski. They’ve all got their hands behind their back. They’re worried about giving a penalty away. You’ve got Keane, you’ve got Gueye, you’ve got Alcaraz, they’ve all got their hands behind their back. Actually, Garner has his hands in front.”
Neville: “Honestly, I just don’t think they need to have their arms behind their back. I genuinely don’t. If you have your arms here (down at his side) and it hits your arm, they aren’t going to give that. Tarkowski has moved his arm towards the ball so if you look at it now, he leans into it and he blocks it and it’s a penalty. He knows what he’s done, I just looked at his face, I couldn’t take my eyes off him, and I thought he knows it’s a penalty. You just know when you’re a player at this level, he’s an honest lad and he knows that he’s made a mistake because Pickford would have just picked that up.”
Carragher: “It was a throwback to before VAR days where a referee wasn’t 100 percent sure, he was in communication with his assistant Lee Betts on that side and he needed help. I think the referee thought it was a penalty but he looked to his assistant for guidance. He took six and a half seconds and then thought ‘I’m going to give it’. Because of VAR, we are in that position where officials go I think it’s a penalty so I’m going to give it and then if VAR get involved, they can decide if it was a big mistake. He thought it was a penalty, he wanted confirmation from the assistant, so it was like an old fashioned decision. He made the decision and there was no way it was going to be overturned.”
Neville: “He wanted confirmation. If you see the actual line of the referee, I think he’s actually blocked because of Tarkowski’s body and the Leeds player that’s stood in front of him, I actually think he doesn’t see it so I think he does look over, he does absolutely the right thing here. You can tell he has communicated with his linesman, he looks over to his linesman, he says ‘I’ve not seen it, what do you think?’. He says ‘I think it’s a penalty’ and the assistant referee has given it on that far side because the referee is just blocked.”
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