Merlin Rohl got away with one against Tottenham, but referee Michael Oliver cannot be faulted for his decision either.<\/p>\n
That is the view of former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official Keith Hackett, who told Football Insider exclusively that the call on Rohl\u2019s challenge on Micky van de Ven came down to interpretation.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred in the 20th minute when, despite a free-kick being given to Everton, Van de Ven was left writhing on the turf after replays revealed Rohl had gone in with a high, studs-up challenge. The home crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium were incensed, though with Joao Palhinha\u2019s goal ultimately settling the contest, it proved not to be a match-defining moment \u2014 much to Everton\u2019s frustration.<\/p>\n
Van de Ven went on to help Spurs over the line on Sunday, 24 May, sparing the club from the humiliation of relegation, though the defender could have paid a heavier price for the foul on him.<\/p>\n
Hackett was sympathetic to Oliver\u2019s handling of the situation. \u201cI support the referee on this one,\u201d he said. \u201cFirst of all, I think it\u2019s at most a reckless challenge. But of course, VAR is unable to come in and say to the referee, \u2018It\u2019s a yellow card\u2019 \u2014 he can only intervene if he believes it warrants a red. I think, like me, they looked at the sequence. Two players go in, I think the ball has been cleared, I think he\u2019s played it first. It\u2019s a tight one.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll games are not the same. People will say all games are the same, but they\u2019re not. With the consequences of a major decision, you\u2019ve got to be 100 per cent, and I think in this one it might have been 98 per cent. This is not going to be a hundred referees saying this was the right decision \u2014 this is more of a \u2018You lucky boy, you\u2019ve escaped\u2019. But I can justify it as a red. No question about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Rohl\u2019s future, questions are already being asked about his long-term prospects at Everton. The club have completed a \u00a317 million permanent deal for the attacker following his season-long loan, but his debut campaign on Merseyside has been deeply underwhelming \u2014 just one goal in 17 appearances. Many feel the club have already spent unwisely, particularly given the obligation-to-buy clause built into the original loan agreement.<\/p>\n
With the transfer now made permanent, Everton may look to move him on, though attracting suitable interest will be no easy task given how little he has impressed in the Premier League. A red card against Spurs would have been yet another low point in a difficult first season in England \u2014 fortunately for Rohl, the referee\u2019s original call stood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Merlin Rohl got away with one against Tottenham, but referee Michael Oliver cannot be faulted for his decision either. That is the view of former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official Keith Hackett, who told Football Insider exclusively that the call on Rohl\u2019s challenge on Micky van de Ven came down \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football"],"yoast_head":"\n