The ‘c word’ reared its ugly head again with Everton as David Moyes’ men battled back to earn a deserved share of the spoils with Arsenal. The 1-1 draw against Mikel Arteta’s side was a landmark moment as it ensured that the returning Blues boss has now accumulated more points this season than Sean Dyche.
Indeed, Everton’s form since the manager who steered them to nine top-eight finishes including a best-ever Premier League position of fourth during his first tenure, was restored to the Goodison Park hot seat, would place them in sixth in the division over the period. But many outside of the club, still seem begrudging in their respect for the Blues.
Turn on your television today and scroll through Saturday’s on demand Premier League highlights and you’ll read matter of fact headlines such as “Three red cards as Palace hold on to beat Brighton”; “Sarabia and Strand Larsen help Wolves complete Ipswich comeback” and “Bournemouth held at West Ham but still in the hunt for Europe.” It’s only when you get to the action at Goodison Park that a subjective kicker is used with the aforementioned ‘c word’ in question: “Controversial penalty costs Arsenal at Everton.”
Controversial in whose eyes? Mikel Arteta, sure, who says he’s seen it 15 times, but didn’t believe it should have been given, but the Arsenal manager is hardly an unbiased source.
Referee Darren England gave it straight away and was backed up by Stuart Attwell on VAR duty. Yet, because of who the decision came against, we are told there is doubt.
Coming less than 72 hours after their latest derby day debacle, Evertonians could be forgiven for feeling more than peeved over such a framing of a decisive moment in another of their matches. Moyes is a straight talker, one of the most honest and honourable men in football, even when it comes to debatable calls with his own team, but like thousands of Blues – including legendary midfielder Peter Reid who remarked: “the laws of the game are an ass,” – he is understandably still fuming over the decision to allow Liverpool’s winning goal despite Luis Diaz standing in an offside position in the build-up.
While dignified as always in public, in his pre-match press conference for the Arsenal game, the Glaswegian went as far as saying: “You can always hide behind words can’t you? Anybody really who has followed football over the period of their lifetime will have seen that as offside.”
There were of course two major flashpoints at Anfield with Everton captain James Tarkowski fortunate to have avoided a first Premier League red card, but nobody in the Blues camp – including Moyes – is seemingly denying that.
It must be remembered that even with Everton having a man sent off in the first half on their previous visit to Anfield the season before after Ashley Young’s dismissal – another game in which there was inconsistency as Ibrahima Konate was spared a second booking for hauling down Beto (Jurgen Klopp’s decision to substitute his player moments later said it all) – Liverpool laboured for long periods against their neighbours and couldn’t find a breakthrough until they were awarded a 75th minute penalty.
Such an interpretation of the rules can be filed alongside what this correspondent reported as the phenomenon of Everton getting a raw deal from referees in derbies has been going on for generations. Mark Clattenburg, Graham Poll, Wembley handballs or Clive Thomas’ outrageous decision that still hasn’t been explained to this day… the list goes on and on.
It’s no laughing matter for generations of loyal but long-suffering Blues, but it feels like such incidents get swept under the carpet, especially when they occur against the so-called ‘Sky Six,’ the half dozen teams who not that long ago were plotting to anoint themselves as the sport’s elite in perpetuity and form the so-called breakaway ‘European Super League,’ a synthetic private members’ club which would tear up over a century of sporting integrity created by the game’s organic pyramid system based on merit while leaving all those not including among the select few to eventually wither and die.
But just as they couldn’t bully the rest of football then, so the same should apply now. No amount of hectoring from rivals – who should try and walk a mile in Evertonians’ shoes – can silence how this fanbase justifiably feels.
When Everton got their so-called “controversial” reprieve, only Wolves, who haven’t been given a penalty all season, had been awarded fewer spot-kicks than the Blues, who had just one until that point after having VAR take away two that had been initially given in their previous two home matches (the first of which against Manchester United featured a blatant shirt tug from an angle understood to have been ignored by the decision makers).
In 2022, Everton’s official statistician Gavin Buckland spoke on the ECHO’s Royal Blue podcast about referees being affected by crowds/hype and consequences in matches involving big teams. The numbers he crunched to support his theory were illuminating.
During the 2019/20 season when stadia were full until coronavirus restrictions were enforced from March onwards, just two penalties were awarded for teams playing against Manchester City and Liverpool. In 2020/21, when matches were largely played behind closed doors, this figure skyrocketed to 18 but when the crowds returned in 2021/22, it plummeted again to just one.
So, when the Blues do get what feels like a rare call that goes their way against one of the ‘big six’, that’s why it is seemingly obligatory that the ‘c word’ is once more trotted out by media outlets beyond the ECHO’s Everton reporters as part of a culture that shows little sign of abating.
OPINION: Reaction to Everton decision speaks volumes as one word sets frustrating tone
