Rafa Benitez says Richarlison 'was not helping' when he reacted to being brought off in the 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace - despite carrying an injury.
The Everton boss subbed the Brazilian just before the hour, with the forward struggling with a calf problem sustained in the first half.
Benitez had wanted to make the change at the break but Richarlison insisted he was fine to continue but less than 15 minutes into the second period against Palace, the manager decided to act.
Many fans in the away end reacted angrily to Benitez's decision and would sing Richarlison's name in support of a player who looked unhappy to be coming off.
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But Benitez was at pains to explain why the £35m signing had to come off.
"The substitution...I cannot explain everything all of the time," he said.
"We didn't have Allan coming [to the game] because of a small injury. Richarlison, at half-time, we could see him limping and he had a problem with his calf. We tried to make the substitution at half-time but he said he wanted to try the second-half.
"It was obvious he was not at the level we were expecting and without (Dominic) Calvert-Lewin available we didn't want to take the risk.
"So you make a substitution and you cannot expect a fan to [know] why. The player was not helping by moving his arms but he knew because he told us and would see he wasn't fully fit. We were trying to protect a player but it goes against you. Now you have an explanation. Hopefully everybody understands that we tried the best for the team and to protect a player."
Benitez faced jeers from many at Goodison earlier this season when he took Anthony Gordon off but says his decision today at Selhurst Park, as it was then, was fully justified.
Salomon Rondon came on and poked home a goal to give Everton hope of finding an equaliser, before Palace scored a third in time added on.
"When you are disappointed because the team is not doing well, you can be emotional and react," he said.
"But we have made these decisions and they have been right because today was the same.
"Rondon came on, he was holding the ball and giving us something more. We try to do our best for the team, every time."
