The Everton Fans’ Forum has written an open letter to Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) regarding refereeing decisions in Everton matches this season.
The Blues were left stunned when they missed out on a spot-kick after Mateus Fernandes reached out for the ball and handled it in the area while marking Thierno Barry in Saturday's 2-1 defeat at West Ham United.
Referee Stuart Attwell failed to spot the offence on the pitch while VAR pair Michael Salisbury and Daniel Robathan didn’t recommend that it should be given either.
When asked whether a penalty should have been awarded, even Hammers boss Nuno Espirito Santo admitted: “I was scared.”
Subsequently, the ECHO understands Everton chief executive Angus Kinnear plans to speak to officials at the PGMOL to raise concerns about the consistency of officiating in the Premier League - and a copy of the Everton Fans’ Forum Letter has been supplied to him to take to any meeting arranged with them.
It reads as follows...
This letter is written to formally raise concerns regarding the consistency, accountability, and statistical performance of officiating involving Everton during the 2025/26 Premier League season.
We acknowledge football will always involve subjective decisions. However, the volume of key errors affecting Everton points to a deeper issue than isolated mistakes.
The most recent example came against West Ham United on 25/04/26 where a clear handball by Mateus Fernandes inside the penalty area did not lead to a penalty being awarded. Referee Stuart Attwell took no action, and VAR official Michael Salisbury judged the incident accidental.
Earlier in the season, against Arsenal, Everton were again denied a penalty following a foul on Thierno Barry. Referee Sam Barrott did not award the penalty, and once again VAR official Michael Salisbury declined to intervene. The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel later confirmed this as an error, stating that a review should have been recommended.
These incidents are not anomalies. Data from the Key Match Incidents Panel and independent reviews show multiple incorrect or missed penalty decisions involving Everton this season.
When viewed collectively, a pattern is difficult to ignore:
Multiple acknowledged errors in Everton matches
Repeated failings by the same VAR official (Salisbury)
Inconsistent interpretation of handball and foul thresholds
A lack of transparent accountability or explanation
Everton are not alone in experiencing contentious decisions, but the frequency of these incidents place us among the most affected clubs this season, as reflected in ongoing league-wide analysis of VAR errors and their impact on results.
This raises fundamental questions:
Why do similar incidents yield different outcomes depending on the match or officials involved?
What performance thresholds or review mechanisms are applied to referees and VAR officials with repeated errors?
Why does the same small pool of officials continued to oversee matches involving clubs they have previously impacted through acknowledged mistakes?
VAR was introduced to eliminate “clear and obvious errors.” In Everton’s case this season and previous seasons, it has too often failed to do so.
We as football fans ask for consistency, transparency and accountability.
Until those standards are demonstrated by officials supported by both decisions and data, confidence in officiating processes will continue to decline.
Yours sincerely,