Sean Dyche pointed to Everton’s own frustration with controversial decisions as he responded to Nottingham Forest complaints at Goodison Park.
The Everton boss pointed to the Blues’ own frustrations following Forest’s extraordinary statement
The visiting team felt they should have received three penalties during their 2-0 loss and, at the end of the match, publicly criticized the officials.
Forest issued a statement on X (previously known as Twitter), accusing bias and stating that the club would review its options. The Football Association is now preparing to investigate these allegations.
The team believed they should have been given penalties for two fouls and a handball allegedly committed by Ashley Young. Referee Anthony Taylor rejected these claims during the game, and VAR did not find any grounds to overturn them.
Dyche mentioned that he didn’t know about Forest’s complaint during his post-match press conference. When asked if he thought Everton had been lucky with the officiating, he referred to Everton’s previous dissatisfaction with key decisions that prompted the club’s Fans’ Forum to write to chief refereeing officer Howard Webb earlier this year seeking clarification.
Issues included the contentious decisions to disallow a Dominic Calvert-Lewin goal at Tottenham Hotspur, the same player’s sending off at Crystal Palace in the FA Cup, which was later rescinded, and the lack of penalties given to his team.
On Sunday afternoon, Dyche remarked, “We’ve only been awarded two penalties this season, which is surprisingly low given the number we probably should have received. There’s frustration with VAR from everyone this season; we’ve had our moments too.
“I wasn’t aware of that; it’s their decision, and I can’t control their thoughts. Looking at our season so far, I don’t think we’ve been given our fair share of penalties. We’ll focus on what we’re doing and hope for some positive turns as the season progresses.”