Lampard unhappy with game changing decision in Everton’s defeat to Brentford

Frank Lampard felt that his side were once again on the wrong end of a refereeing decision which changed the shape of the game at Goodison Park as Everton were defeated 3-2 by Brentford

Winning 1-0 and on top at the time, the Toffees were denied a penalty 18 minutes in when Richarlison had his shirt pulled inside the box by Bees defender Kristoffer Ajer. Seconds later with the visitors clearing their lines, young Blues centre back Jarrad Branthwaite brought down Ivan Toney as the last man and subsequently received a red card from referee Michael Oliver.

Speaking post-match, Blues boss Lampard – who has already been charged by the Football Association for his comments after last month’s Merseyside derby defeat to Liverpool – was far from pleased.

“It was a penalty. It’s a clear shirt pull and a foul in the box. If you’re asking for Richarlison to go down for it, then you’re asking people to fall on the floor.

“The most frustrating thing for me is to have to come out and speak about it because I’m fed up of speaking about it.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for the referees because they do one of the toughest jobs, but the reality is that we’ve been on the bad end of a lot of decisions this season.

“It’s hard because I have to represent the club and represent the fans that come here to support us. Small margins can affect our position and I do believe that a penalty on the shirt pull today means it maybe goes 2-0 to us, and we still have 11 men. I think we all know how that game then goes.”

In what turned out to be another disappointing afternoon for the hosts in a torrid season, they did get a penalty in first half added time as Richarlison was brought down by Mads Bech Sorensen.

The Brentford man was already on a booking but received no further punishment from referee Oliver, another decision which Lampard – as many in the ground – thought was wrong.

2-1 up with Brazilian Richarlison converting from 12 yards out, the Toffees conceded twice in two second-half minutes to go 3-2 down.

Remarkably, there was to be another low point for Everton with Salomon Rondon also seeing a straight red from Oliver just four minutes after coming on as a substitute late on.

Lampard had no qualms with that sending off, a lunging challenge by the Venezuelan on Brentford’s third goalscorer – and eventual match winner – Rico Henry.

However, on the initial incident which led to 19-year-old Branthwaite’s marching orders, the boss added:

“There’s no point in it [speaking to Oliver post-match].

“When I spoke about what happened at Anfield [in April], I wasn’t speaking about Stuart Attwell and I wasn’t speaking about individuals, I was speaking about pressure situations and how they can change people.

“Today for me it was pretty clear that shirt pull is a foul anywhere else on the pitch. This ‘clear and obvious’ phrase [in relation to VAR] is nonsense because the decision is either right or wrong.”

With survival in their own hands, Lampard’s side have two huge games to come next week. First, they welcome Crystal Palace to Goodison Park on Thursday (May 19) before ending the campaign away at Arsenal on Sunday (May 22).

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