‘Crazy’ Everton moment slammed by ex-Premier League man as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall breaks silence on yellow card
The first Merseyside Derby of the season wasn’t without its controversial moments.
Everton were on the receiving end of of some controversial calls at the weekend during the first Merseyside Derby of the season.
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Liverpool came away with another big win to aid their Premier League title defence and kept their winning streak ticking over. The Reds are now five points clear of Arsenal, who drew 1-1 with Manchester City on Sunday.
However, the biggest talking point of Everton’s visit to Anfield remains Darren England’s decision for booking Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Toffees’ summer signing picked up his fourth yellow card of the season for taking a quick free-kick late on in the match as Everton looked to complete a spirited comeback.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall yellow card controversy addressed
England’s decision to book Dewsbury-Hall has caused quite the stir and is being heavily debated by fans and professionals alike. Former referee Dermot Gallagher gave his take on the situation during the latest episode of Sky Sports’ Ref Watch.
Ex-Premier League and Championship forward Jay Bothroyd slammed the yellow card situation and branded it ‘one of the worst decisions’ of the weekend.
“It's crazy. The referee should have got a yellow card for this decision! There's a foul. The ball has been put down in the same spot, pretty much. The referee has walked away, he's not facing the play.
“The only thing I can think of is he said 'wait for the whistle'. But why can't you take the free-kick? It's on the halfway line. It's a poor decision. That was one of the worst decisions I've seen this weekend.”
Gallagher responded: “I'm not sure it's a yellow card but I don't know what referee Darren England said to him. That's what you have to remember.”
What have Everton said about Dewsbury-Hall’s yellow card?
David Moyes was visibly unhappy with Dewsbury-Hall’s booking as it happened. The Everton boss could be seen protesting the decision on the sidelines and he took the chance to question it during his post-match interview as well.
The Toffees have also called out the amount of stoppage time added onto the 90 while they were chasing an equaliser, with both Moyes and Jack Grealish baffled by the extra three minutes.
“I've been here so many times. I don't want to sound like an old fart coming on here all the time saying the same things. I found only three minutes [of stoppage-time] amazing at the end of the second half,” Moyes told TNT Sports.
“We wanted to play quite quickly, I've seen lots of teams score from quick free-kicks but today we couldn't do anything because we had to wait on the referee's whistle all the time.
“I found some of the decisions really strange, but we've come to get used to that here, I think everyone is quite aware of that, certainly everyone connected with Everton.”
Grealish had similar gripes during his post-match interview as he also questioned England’s call on both the yellow card and the amount of time added on to the second half.
“I've never seen a player in my whole life get booked for taking a quick free-kick. I don't know where that rule's come in.
“Even the stoppage-time, three minutes and one minute? Come on. I've never seen that in the Premier League in the last two, three years.”
Dewsbury-Hall took to Instagram to reflect on the Anfield result, which sees Everton slip to tenth in the Premier League table. The Toffees will look to redeem the derby outcome with a strong Carabao Cup performance against Wolves on Tuesday.
“Spirited performance second half but ultimately disappointing result,” Dewsbury-Hall posted on his story. “Quick turnaround to put it right Tuesday! Amazing support. Let’s not talk about that yellow…”