‘Their bench’ - Sean Dyche shares interesting Fulham reaction to Everton’s disallowed goal

Sean Dyche reckons that the Fulham bench's reaction to Everton's disallowed goal showed exactly why it should have stood.

The Toffees suffered a 1-0 loss to the Cottagers on the opening day of the 2023-24 season at Goodison Park yesterday.

After spurning several golden chances in the first half, Everton finally thought they had broken the deadlock in the 35th minute. Michael Keane stroked into an empty net after Fulham keeper Bernd Leno spilled the ball. However, Leno was adjudged to have been fouled by James Tarkowski.

The decision made by referee Stuart Atwell would prove costly as Everton would go on to lose their curtain raiser, with Bobby De Cordova-Reid on target for Fulham in the 73rd minute.

Dyche, speaking at his pre-match press conference, claimed that Cottagers manager Marco Silva and the rest of his backroom team scarcely protested when Keane found the back of the net.

The Everton chief said: “I am a big fan of VAR, I always have been. I get they are promoting the idea the referee’s decision is first and we then sort it but today’s one, that is where it [VAR] should step in for me - that was my gut feeling in the moment. You can normally tell because their bench did not go mad, I think they thought that was probably a goal.

“I can’t really work it out. I have seen it back, Tarky does nothing really, minimal contact of any kind other than the keeper catching it above him and landing on him. I don’t know what he is meant to do. As a player, I have no clue what he is meant to do, so therefore, why it is given as a foul I just do not know.

“The ref said he gave the decision, I just offered him a view that that is why VAR is there, that is when it should step in. At the minimum it should be that the referee looks at the monitor.

"If you are sitting in the studio watching that I would be amazed - I will ask to see what they said - but I would be amazed if you are sitting there and did not think that was a fair challenge because he did not do anything to put the keeper off other than almost think he is going to get hit and cower away and bend over as if [thinking] ‘here he comes’. And he drops it. What do you do?”