Man City Everton Var Decision: Panel Rules on 3-3 Penalty Call
Manchester City Everton VAR decision turned on one 85th-minute corner at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, and the Premier League's Key Match Incidents panel said Manchester City should have conceded a penalty in the 3-3 draw earlier this month. The ruling leaves Everton with the same final score, but it sharpens the focus on the incident that came when they were 3-2 up.
Hill Dickinson Stadium penalty call
Bernardo Silva was marking Merlin Röhl at that corner, and Röhl was tugged to the ground as the ball was swung in. Referee Michael Oliver did not spot the contact, and VAR Paul Howard reviewed the footage before play continued without a spot kick.
The panel's unanimous view was clear: “there is a clear, sustained holding offence which continues as the corner is taken and the ball comes into play.” That directly contradicts the in-match call, where Howard deemed any foul had ended before the ball was in play.
David Moyes on the decision
David Moyes did not hide his anger after the match. “If that doesn’t get given as a penalty, then it’s an absolute free-for-all from now on,” he said after the Everton penalty claim, and he added: “I might have to start coaching my defenders how to defend differently completely. It looks like now you’re able to sort of grapple and wrestle on the ground if you want. I’m absolutely amazed.”
That frustration had a clear edge because Everton were 3-2 up at the time. A penalty there could have sealed victory, and the missed call left the match open for Jérémy Doku to strike late and make it 3-3 for City.
City, Everton and the title race
The wider consequence sat beyond one draw. At the time of the decision, Manchester City were still chasing Arsenal, and the background context around the incident was stark: a penalty for Everton could have left City six points adrift at the top with one game in hand.
City escaped that swing, Everton did not get the penalty they wanted, and the panel’s ruling now puts the match’s decisive moment back under a harsh light. For Everton, the result still stands; for City, the draw remains part of a title race shaped by one ignored hold at a corner.
