Keith Hackett criticized referee Anthony Taylor and VAR Stuart Attwell after Everton’s victory over Nottingham Forest.
On April 21, the former PGMOL chief took to Twitter to attack the two officials following the disputed 2-0 Toffees victory at Goodison Park.
Forest were incensed when three penalty appeals involving Ashley Young were turned down, and they looked to be in hot water after accusing Attwell of doing so because he is a Luton fan, despite Rob Edwards’ side being a point and a place behind them in the relegation zone.
Hackett, an ex-FIFA referee, said Taylor’s performance was “unacceptable.”
And when asked about Attwell’s lack of intervention as the video assistant, he said: “It was handball, and Forest were unlucky not to have two penalty calls and a third that may have been granted. Was a VAR in position or on the road heading home? Not good enough.
Ashley Young drama flares following Everton’s victory
All three Forest penalty shouts were possibly controversial enough in real time for Taylor to get away with his first decision, but they were all ones Sean Dyche would have screamed for if the roles were reversed.
It’s harder to see how Attwell confirmed the decisions from Stockley Park because they’re probably stretching what constitutes a clear and obvious error and what doesn’t, but the club was never going to get away with implying the official did it because he’s a Luton fan, no matter how strong their grounds for complaint were.
Toffees fans may sympathize with their opponents, having been on the receiving end of some irritating decisions in recent relegation battles, with Frank Lampard punished for his personal criticism of Attwell at Anfield two years ago.
However, some may say that Forest got off lightly in their interactions with the Premier League about points deductions, in a season that has pitted the two against each other in a court context over financial matters.
The end result is that Young avoided another disaster performance in a key game, Dyche received the reaction he desired after telling his players that he does not intend to let them get him fired this week, and the Toffees are now five points away from the drop zone with a game in hand, though the fallout from this game appears to have only just begun.
