Coventry boss Frank Lampard says VAR 'didn't do its job' in his side's defeat to Everton as three reviews controversially went against his side. Two penalty appeals and a possible handball for Everton's second goal were all reviewed by VAR officials Timothy Wood and Gary Beswick, but nothing was given. They were also not awarded on-field by referee Stuart Attwell.
Coventry opened the scoring after the two penalty appeals, but were ultimately beaten 3-1 on Merseyside on Friday Night Football. Lampard told Sky Sports: "I hate to sound like a moaner. It's a football match and if you win the game, that can happen here.
I've worked here and know the momentum swings in the game. "I'm not trying to talk about the circumstances of the actual football, but when big decisions change games, they absolutely do. VAR is there for that and it didn't do its job." Here, we breaks down each incident and what the pundits, managers and players had to say...
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Towards the end of the first half, James Tarkowski rose to defend a high ball into the box. As he did, he caught Ethan Pinnock with an elbow, before also appearing to pull the hair of Caleb Yirenkyi. VAR did look at the incident, especially the elbow, but nothing was given in terms of a card or a penalty.
There was no communication from the Premier League Match Centre on if the hair pull was reviewed, but there was new guidance from the Premier League this summer, which says: "A red card will be issued when there is a clear and deliberate action to pull an opponent's hair with excessive force and/or brutality. "A yellow card will be issued if the action is deemed to be without excessive force and/or brutality. "Referees will enhance recognition of clear holding actions that have a clear material impact, and/or non-footballing holding actions with no place on the football pitch.
This includes penalising defenders where they are clearly only focused on opponents and making a holding action that is impactful on the attacker's ability to play or challenge for the ball." "The first-half decision on Tarkowski got checked. Seeing it back, he pulls on Caleb's hair while competing with Ethan. "I thought the rules were clear.
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