Coventry manager Frank Lampard said VAR didn’t do its job after three contentious reviews went against his side in a 3-1 Premier League defeat at Everton on Friday night. The Sky Blues had two penalty appeals turned down and saw Everton’s second goal allowed despite a possible handball, with none of the on-field decisions overturned by the video assistant referee.
Lampard, speaking to Sky Sports, acknowledged the risk of sounding like a complainer but insisted the big calls had shaped the match. He said VAR exists precisely for such moments and that it had failed to intervene.
Tarkowski hair pull goes unpunished
Late in the first half, James Tarkowski rose to defend a high ball into the Coventry box and caught Ethan Pinnock with an elbow before appearing to pull the hair of Caleb Yirenkyi. VAR reviewed the incident, particularly the elbow, but no card or penalty was awarded.
Lampard argued that the hair pull prevented Yirenkyi from gaining the momentum to jump. He accepted that the rules had been changed so that such an action is not automatically a red card, but maintained it was still a foul and should have been a penalty.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp agreed, saying Tarkowski yanked Yirenkyi’s hair and stopped his elevation. Redknapp described it as a definite penalty and a foul, even if not a red card. Co-commentator Lee Hendrie said the hair pull was clear and that VAR had either ignored it or felt no need to look.
Mykolenko challenge on Awoniyi
Early in the second half, Taiwo Awoniyi drove into the box with Vitalii Mykolenko behind him and went down under contact from behind. Referee Stuart Attwell gave no penalty, and the VAR review deemed the contact to have occurred outside the area.
Lampard said he could not believe the decision, arguing that Awoniyi’s foot was entering the box and that his knee and the back of his knee were on the line, which in his view made it a penalty.
Redknapp was more scathing, calling the VAR handling rubbish. He insisted it was a definite foul, that Awoniyi’s foot was on the line and that being on the line means being in the box. He suggested the review was rushed and that the referee should have been asked to look at the incident himself.
Handball question before Barry's second
Everton’s second goal, scored by Thierno Barry from Tyrique George’s cross, was checked for a possible handball before being allowed to stand. VAR official Timothy Wood concluded that the ball had struck Barry’s side rather than his hand and confirmed the on-field decision of goal.
Hendrie maintained on co-commentary that he believed it was a handball and the goal should have been ruled out. Lampard agreed, saying Barry’s last touch flicked the ball into the net and that the check had been very quick.
Barry was unmoved, saying simply that a goal is a goal and that scoring is a striker’s job. Redknapp, after studying the incident closely, thought the ball brushed Barry’s left hand but understood why VAR did not intervene, as it was not clear and obvious enough to overturn the goal.
Moyes acknowledges fortune
Everton manager David Moyes said he cared about getting the right result but noted that his side had recently been on the wrong end of decisions, including one at Newcastle and another at Manchester City last season that he said was hugely important for their European hopes. He added that such calls sometimes go for a team and sometimes against, and that he would be complaining more if they were going against him.
Coventry had taken the lead after the two penalty appeals but were beaten 3-1 on Merseyside. Lampard’s frustration centred on the sense that the match’s momentum shifted on calls that VAR had the tools to correct but chose not to.
