- Everton fans believe Simon Hooper was watching nothing on the VAR monitor
- However, the Premier League explained how he overturned the penalty decision
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Everton fans are in uproar after it initially appeared referee Simon Hooper was watching nothing on the main VAR monitor as he scrapped his decision to award Dominic Calvert-Lewin a penalty against Brighton on Saturday.
Everton were initially awarded a penalty to try and equalise early in the second half of their 3-0 defeat after Lewis Dunk appeared to foul Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
But Hooper was called over to the screen to mull over his decision and he overturned it, sparking fury.
Jordan Pickford stalked over to the referee to protest after the main monitor simply showed generic VAR and Premier League logos and no replay of the incident.
However, the Premier League has insisted that Hooper could watch the incident on a back-up monitor, as written in their match report.
Everton fans are angry that Simon Hooper appeared to be watching no footage as he overturned his decision to award Dominic Calvert-Lewin a penalty
Jordan Pickford rushed over to protest with Hooper with Everton 1-0 down at that point
But Hooper was actually looking at a back-up monitor with the main screen malfunctioning, the Premier League has explained
The Premier League Match Centre also said on X: ‘The referee awarded a penalty to Everton for a foul by Dunk on Calvert-Lewin. The VAR recommended an on-field review as he deemed Calvert-Lewin’s foot landed on Dunk’s foot and there was no foul. The referee overturned the original decision and play restarted with a drop ball.’
ESPN’s Dale Johnson posted pictures showing that the back-up screen was placed flat on the ground facing upwards, showing images of Hooper looking down at it with the main VAR monitor malfunctioning.
Everton fans reacted furiously to the episode but the explanation would appear to clear up what happened with no issue.
It was a disastrous start to the Premier League season for the Toffees as they sunk to a 3-0 home defeat and saw Ashley Young sent off.
Kaoru Mitoma opened the scoring in the first half with his first goal since September.
Danny Welbeck doubled Brighton’s lead in the 56th minute with a precise finish into the corner from the edge of the area, meaning he has scored in 15 consecutive Premier League seasons.
He then turned provider with a goregous outside-of-the-foot pass for Simon Adingra, whose finish sealed the three points on Fabian Hurzeler’s debut as Seagulls boss.
In the aftermath, Everton boss Sean Dyche was livid that the penalty had been overturned, with Calvert-Lewin’s foot deemed to have landed on Dunk’s foot.
Sean Dyche believes Hooper should have stuck by his call to award Calvert-Lewin a penalty
He said: ‘I can’t work it out on the penalty. He (the referee) makes a decision in a perfect viewing point and lo and behold is called over to overturn it.
‘So what is the point of a high bar then? We’ve had meetings about it.
‘Their player is out of control on the floor and drags his foot along with the top of his foot and the bottom of Dom’s so that clearly pulls him to the ground.
‘That is contact in the box and we have all seen the tiniest things given as a penalty – someone treads on a toe and they give a penalty. So I think we are all confused by this.’
Dyche’s comments may not be welcomed by authorities given that Premier League chief football officer Tony Scholes and referees’ chief Howard Webb, held meetings with managers before the season warning that attacking VAR decisions would reduce confidence in the league.
Brighton manager Hurzeler said it was ‘clear’ the original penalty call was wrong and should have been overturned.
Mail Sport has contacted the PGMOL and the Premier League for comment.