Awarding Leeds United a late penalty is the latest controversial decision from Chris Kavanagh against Everton
Jack Grealish speaks to referee Chris Kavanagh during the match between Leeds United and Everton at Elland Road on August 18, 2025
Jack Grealish speaks to referee Chris Kavanagh during the match between Leeds United and Everton at Elland Road on August 18, 2025
Chris Kavanagh’s decision to award Leeds United what proved to be a match-winning penalty against Everton is the latest in a string of controversial calls involving the Blues from the Greater Manchester based match official.
The 39-year-old pointed to the spot after James Tarkowski flung his body at a shot by Anton Stach which struck his upper arm, which was not raised, and substitute Lucas Nmecha converted from 12 yards out to secure the three points for the newly promoted Yorkshire side. Both Tarkowski and his manager David Moyes were disgusted by the decision, while speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club, former Premier League striker Chris Sutton described it as “a scandal,” adding: “his arm is down by his side.”
What will be even more infuriating for Everton when it comes for their quest for consistency is that Kavanagh was the on duty video assistant referee assisting man in the middle Paul Tierney when Manchester City’s Rodri was not penalised for the ball hitting his raised arm in the penalty area in a 1-0 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s side at Goodison Park on February 26, 2022. Then Blues boss Frank Lampard said: “We’ve lost a point because of a professional who cannot do his job right. It is so incompetent to get it wrong.”
The decision prompted Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) boss Mike Riley (from Leeds) to call both Lampard and Everton chairman Bill Kenwright on Monday to apologise for the incident some 48 hours after the game.
Everton have now failed to win their last nine fixtures in front of fans when Kavanagh has been in charge and other flashpoints involving the Ashton-under-Lyne official include the following...
April 26, 2025: Chelsea 1 Everton 0
Kavanagh’s last Blues game before the trip to Elland Road. With the score goalless at Stamford Bridge, home goalkeeper Robert Sanchez wipes out Everton left-back Vitalii Mykolenko as the pair both go for a loose ball in the Chelsea area.
Kavanagh fails to award a penalty to Moyes’ side but former refereeing chief Keith Hackett said: “The challenge by the goalkeeper is a clear reckless challenge and should have resulted in a penalty kick and yellow card. “It amazes me that there is no intervention from VAR, who should have determined that the referee taking no action is a clear and obvious error. Poor officiating.”
January 4, 2024: Crystal Palace 0 Everton 0
Playing in heavy rain on a wet Selhurst Park surface in an FA Cup third round tie, Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is given his marching orders by Kavanagh for catching former Liverpool defender Nathaniel Clyne with a raised boot despite a free-kick not being given in real time. The overturned decision came on a night when Kavanagh was assisted by VAR (Craig Pawson) and SVAR (Michael Salisbury) and despite them reaching their consensus after watching the incident back, the decision was then rescinded following an appeal by Everton.
November 7, 2021: Everton 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0
Kavanagh’s FA Cup assignment in south London saw him taking charge of an Everton game for the first time in over two years since he was the man in the middle for another goalless draw. He spiced that stalemate up by awarding Everton a penalty when Richarlison went down under a challenge from Hugo Lloris but then overturned his original decision following a review on the pitchside monitor in which the visiting goalkeeper was deemed to have got a fingertip on the ball and then sent off Mason Holgate in stoppage time for good measure.
March 1, 2020: Everton 1 Manchester United 1
Kavanagh showed another red card to Carlo Ancelotti after the final whistle when the Blues boss was furious with Calvert-Lewin’s last-minute winner against Manchester United being chalked off by VAR. Everton’s Gylfi Sigurdsson was deemed to be in an offside position, despite lying prostrate on the turf at the time.