Controversial Referee Decisions Upheld In Man City and Everton Matches

The Man City Penalty Drama

Manchester City recently beat Sunderland 5-3 in a high scoring match. During the second half, a major talking point emerged when Sunderland players and staff felt they should have had a penalty. The ball hit Manchester City midfielder Elliot Anderson on the hand during a challenge with Enzo Le Fée inside the penalty area.

Referee Rob Jones did not give a penalty, and VAR Michael Salisbury did not overturn the decision. This decision left Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris very angry.

What The Panel Decided

A Premier League panel has now looked at the incident. The Key Match Incidents panel has five members, which includes three former players and coaches, one Premier League representative, and one member from Pro Ref.

The panel supported the referee's decision not to award a penalty by a tight majority of 3-2. The panel explained that both players were close to each other and the ball bounced quickly after deflecting off Le Fée.

However, it was not a unanimous decision. Two members of the panel felt that Anderson made a deliberate secondary movement with his arm to touch the ball. Despite this difference of opinion, the panel also voted 4-1 that VAR was right not to get involved in the incident.

Everton Goal Decision Upheld

The same panel also looked at a disallowed goal from Everton's 1-0 victory over Ipswich at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Everton thought they had scored a second goal when Thierno Barry headed the ball into the net.

However, referee Stuart Attwell ruled the goal out because Brennan Johnson was offside in front of Ipswich goalkeeper Christian Walton.

The panel backed this decision with another 3-2 vote. They stated that Johnson was offside and very close to the goalkeeper. They felt his movement affected Walton's ability to move towards the ball. Two panel members disagreed, believing Johnson did not impact the goalkeeper.