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‘Can never work’ – Alan Shearer gives blunt Everton penalty verdict as Gary Lineker makes VAR claim
Chris Beesley
2 – 3 minutes
SportFootball
Everton FC
The decision to award Everton a penalty against Arsenal came under scrutiny on Match of the Day
Pundits Danny Murphy and Alan Shearer both agreed that Everton should not have been awarded a penalty against Arsenal. Following Leandro Trossard’s first half opener at Goodison Park, Iliman Ndiaye earned the Blues a 1-1 draw when he converted from the spot after Myles Lewis-Skelly was adjudged to have brought down Jack Harrison.
Referee Darren England pointed to the spot and following a VAR check by Stuart Attwell at Stockley Park, the original decision was upheld. However, speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day programme, the pair of former players disagreed with the officials’ call.
Danny Murphy said: “I personally make him right. It was a weird one for me because part of me – with my Liverpool bias (Everton’s point moved the Reds closer to the title) – thinks please give the penalty.
“Actually, I think it’s a really bad decision. It’s never a penalty to me.
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“If anything, you could actually argue that Harrison giving it him. They’re both tugging and pulling each other for a bit, and we’ll see on these replays, it’s a bit soft isn’t it?”
Alan Shearer added: “I think it’s very, very soft, yes. I think either way you look at it, no, not enough to give a penalty for me, no.
“They’re not going to overturn it, once they’ve given it. There is a little bit of contact, once he (Lewis-Skelly) falls or pulls him onto him, he just clips his leg.
“Not for me, no. I think that’s very, very harsh.”
Commenting on the on-field decision not being deemed to be a clear and obvious error, host Gary Lineker, who netted 40 goals for Everton in his solitary season at Goodison Park in 1985/86, chimed in: “This is why VAR can never work in the current format because you’ve got to decide whether it’s enough of a foul, which makes no sense whatsoever.”
