A decision to award Aston Villa a penalty against Everton on a Saturday left the BT Sport panel in disagreement over whether the call should have stood.
Referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot in the 63rd minute, when Idrissa Gueye was adjudged to have tripped John McGinn in the penalty area.
Villa's Ollie Watkins, who just moments earlier had been prevented from giving the visitors the lead when his header was brilliantly kept out by Jordan Pickford, converted from the spot, as Unai Emery's side went on to win 2-0, but there was disagreement in the television studio over whether the original on-field decision should have stood.
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Working as a pundit on BT Sport Score, former Everton and Liverpool midfielder Fara Williams was initially convinced that the spot-kick shouldn't have stood, sparking some lively debate in the studio.
Williams said: “Referee pointed straight to the spot, it’s McGinn that goes down. Ooh, I think if VAR has a look at this, I think Gueye gets a touch on the ball and if VAR have a look it’s not a penalty if they look at it.”
Former referee Peter Walton was also part of the panel and took an entirely different view. He said: “I’ve had a look at it and from one angle it looks as if he gets the ball, but from another angle he doesn’t get the ball. I don’t think it’ll be overturned, I think it’s a penalty kick. There is an optical illusion here, I think it’s a penalty. He doesn’t get the ball."
“What’s he touched then? Did the ball not change direction?” asked Williams
Walton replied: “I don’t think he does [touch it]. He doesn’t touch the ball. We’re forensically analysing this and that’s not what VAR is for by the way. Again, what I’m saying is that from one angle it looks as if he’s touched it and from another it doesn’t. I don’t think it’ll be overturned.”
Williams wasn't having it and pushed it further by asking: “Why hasn’t the referee been asked to go and look at the monitor then? Because I definitely think the ball has changed direction.”
Walton insisted it was a matter of protocol, adding: “It doesn’t matter if you’re in a relegation battle or the middle of the table. At the end of the day, you follow the protocol. Protocol is laid down by IFAB. You don’t want inconsistencies of one game sending him over, and the next game not."
Ex-Everton defender Martin Keown was also in the studio and sided with Williams on the matter, while taking a swipe at Walton. He said: “I feel it stinks of arrogance, honestly, that comment. If you’re in the stadium, the referee should be allowed to be sent over and take a look at that.”
Everton's defeat was their first at Goodison Park under Sean Dyche, who now has two wins and two defeats from his first four matches in charge of the Blues. Victory for Leeds against Southampton elsewhere has put the Blues back in the relegation zone on Saturday evening, a point behind their Yorkshire rivals.
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