Expert reveals why Everton’s Ben Godfrey was not sent off against Arsenal

Arsenal slump to loss

Arsenal slumped to their third loss in four games, and by far their most damaging, as Everton came from behind to beat the Gunners 2-1.

In a first half lacking in quality, Everton had the ball in the net through Richarlison, before a marginal offside call ruled it out.

60 seconds later, it was Arsenal’s turn to have the ball in the net, and this one stood. In a rare moment of quality, Kieran Tierney’s cross from the left was met by Martin Odegaard, who rolled the ball past Jordan Pickford.

Everton, however, battled on. Winless in 8 games, the Toffees notched an equaliser through Richarlison, who nodded home after a Demarai Gray strike had come back off the crossbar.

Then, in stoppage time, it was Gray who had the last laugh.

Cutting in from the left hand side, he unleashed a thunderous strike that crashed in off the post, leaving Arsenal to travel back down from north London with nothing to show for their efforts.

However, there was another talking point.

Should Everton have been down to ten men?

One flashpoint came midway through the first half, in an altercation that actually happened off the pitch.

Ben Godfrey appeared to stamp on Takehiro Tomiyasu, catching the Japanese international in the face with a challenge that was checked by VAR, but no further action was taken, to the bemusement of many.

“He didn’t touch him, ref!” pic.twitter.com/0jQhGOi7kn

— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) December 6, 2021

Speaking at half-time, Gary Neville said:

“it’s 100 per cent he means that”.

“As a professional, it’s 100 per cent he means that.”

Gary Neville believes Ben Godfrey deliberately stood on the face of Takehiro Tomiyasu during Everton’s win over Arsenal last night.https://t.co/JvT6jUPu8S

— Standard Sport (@standardsport) December 7, 2021

However, former Referee Dermot Gallagher has since explained why a red card was not shown, even going as far as to suggest that he wouldn’t have given one either. Asked whether it was a red card, Gallagher said:

“For me, no, but there are going to be a lot of people that say yes. I’ve already spoken to people last night, people this morning, there’s lots and lots of mixed feelings”

“The reason I say no, I think that there is a little element of doubt about it, and because of a stamping situation I’ve always taken the mindset that only he really knows.”

“Going through the pictures, and walking through it, you see the challenge. It doesn’t look good, his foot comes down but his foot’s got to come down somewhere. In his defence, he’s looking away: some people say “maybe deliberate” but he is looking away, so that’s what sways me a little bit.

He continued:

“You look at it refereeing-wise and Mike Dean obviously doesn’t see the challenge, because if he does he would stop the game because obviously it would be a head injury, so you presume Mike Dean doesn’t see it. The game goes on, and in real play it then defaults back to Stuart Atwell in the VAR room. 

He looks at it, he looked at it in great depth, and he looked at it for a long time. I think he took the same view as me, that he couldn’t be convinced, so therefore he had to clear it because the unfortunate thing is, that’s got to be a red card, or leave it as is. There is no provision for yellow card, no provision for a free kick.”

Should Ben Godfrey have been sent off for the ‘stamp’ on #AFC‘s Takehiro Tomiyasu? 🟥

Dermot Gallagher says no 🔊pic.twitter.com/SbUqEjzK6B

— Sky Sports (@SkySports) December 7, 2021

Could he send the referee to the screen? Gallagher explained:

“If he sends the referee to the screen, he’s giving the indication that he feels it’s a little bit more. I know they still retain all options, but the likelihood is, if Mike Dean had been sent to the screen, looking at the pictures, it’s almost as if Stuart has led him to believe it is a red card.”

Do you agree with the decision?

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