Coventry City manager Frank Lampard criticised the officiating after his side suffered a 3-1 defeat to Everton in their Premier League clash at Goodison Park on Friday
NEW DELHI — Coventry City manager Frank Lampard criticised the officiating after his side suffered a 3-1 defeat to Everton in their Premier League clash at Goodison Park on Friday, arguing that James Tarkowski’s hair pull on Caleb Yirenkyi should have resulted in a penalty. Lampard also questioned two other VAR-related decisions during the contest, insisting that the incidents could have significantly altered the outcome of the match.
The most contentious moment for the Coventry boss came in the first half when Tarkowski appeared to tug Yirenkyi’s hair while challenging for the ball inside the Everton penalty area. Referee Stuart Attwell allowed play to continue, with VAR official Timothy Wood subsequently deciding against recommending a penalty.
Although the regulations surrounding hair pulling have been modified this season, with the nature and force of the offence taken into account rather than treating every instance as an automatic foul or red-card offence, Lampard felt the incident warranted a spot-kick.
“They’re saying it’s not enough of a pull and I think it’s a hard area to be in. What is a hair pull? You’ve decided it is but it’s not enough.
“I have looked at them, sometimes with emotions in the moment you can’t be clear on the sidelines.
“I think the rules are fine. It’s not a red card. I kind of get that because I think in a game of football there’s a lot of stuff happens that’s not absolutely dramatic.
“You know they can happen but I think if the the rule remains that it’s a foul so I felt it was a foul,” Lampard was quoted by BBC Sport.
Lampard’s frustration extended beyond the first-half incident. He also believed Coventry should have received a penalty when Taiwo Awoniyi went down following a challenge from Vitalii Mykolenko after the interval. VAR established that contact had taken place but ruled that the infringement occurred outside the penalty area.
“Taiwo for me on the line of the box is a penalty. You’ve got to give the foul in real time anyway, the ref did let it go, and I felt it was a penalty,” Lampard said.
The Coventry manager further disputed the validity of Everton’s second goal, claiming Barry had handled the ball before finding the net. The forward scored twice in the second half to turn the contest around, before setting up Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for Everton’s third goal.
“The Barry one is handball, I’ve heard they are saying it didn’t touch his hand but I’ve seen an angle where he has flicked it in with the final touch. VAR is there for that.
“I can’t sit here and say I know everything and they should give all three of them, if one or two of them don’t go our way, but they would clearly change the game.”
While Lampard acknowledged that not every appeal necessarily had to go Coventry’s way, he maintained that the combined effect of the decisions could have had a decisive bearing on the result.
Everton manager David Moyes, meanwhile, defended Barry over the handball allegations and questioned the rationale behind the revised hair-pulling regulations.
“We’ve had plenty [of decisions] which have gone against us. It certainly doesn’t hit his hand,” Moyes said.
“The hair pull rule has changed so it would be a booking if it was but I still think it’s ridiculous that rule is in the game. I can’t understand why they don’t fix this completely because I don’t see it as a good rule at all.”
The result left Coventry 16th in the Premier League table, two points above the relegation zone, while Everton climbed to fifth after completing their comeback victory. For Lampard, however, the discussion after the final whistle centred less on the scoreline and more on the decisions that he believes prevented his side from getting a different outcome.