Everton’s loss against Leeds United on Monday night has sparked a lot of controversy in the media.
David Moyes and the Blues were sent back to Merseyside without a point following the penalty award, which decided the game.
Mark Clattenburg backs the Leeds penalty award, after claiming James Tarkowski had ultimately blocked the shot on goal with his arm.
Everton will now have to move on and prepare for their upcoming game against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher both agreed on the penalty decision, but it obviously did not go down well with the Everton camp.
Speaking after the game, Moyes admitted he was left baffled by the decision.
“The ball took a deflection, I don’t know where Tarky would have had to get his arm chopped off to. It wasn’t outside his body, it wasn’t doing anything different,” he said.
Simon Jordan has already hit back at the 62-year-old Everton manager following his post-match comments on the penalty.
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Tarkowski said the linesman actually gave the penalty and not referee Chris Kavanagh, with VAR not overruling the decision.
Although Moyes accepted his side were not at their best, there was a clear feeling that Everton had been done out of a point by the penalty award.
Hitting back at the manager on TalkSPORT, Jordan claimed Moyes would not be complaining if the penalty went in Everton’s favour.
“With due respect, this is the thing about managers: if he were on the receiving end of the advantage, he’d have nothing to say about it,” said Jordan.
“The inconsistency which managers deploy over the standards of refereeing is a challenging thing for me. I understand he’s frustrated, and I understand he’s been put on the spot, but I guarantee you if you revered that situation and the penalty had been given to Everton, you wouldn’t hear a peep out of him.”
The officials made multiple errors against Everton during the Leeds loss, which will have gone under the radar.
However, it is only expected that Moyes will feel the need to stick up for his club in what has clearly proven to be an incredibly controversial decision.
David Moyes previously said James Tarkowski was lucky not to be sent off
Everton are now used to finding themselves involved in refereeing controversy on the back of a drama-filled 2024/25 campaign.
Tarkowski’s challenge on Alexis Mac Allister was slammed last season, and rightfully so.
The Everton centre-back was extremely fortunate to get away without a red card in the Merseyside Derby at Anfield.
However, unlike what Jordan suggested, Moyes did not hide away from the reality that his player should have been sent off.
“I thought it was a brilliant tackle, but since I’ve seen it and come back in we could have been lucky he didn’t get a red,” he said.
“It looked high, but it depends what era you want to watch your football in.”