'I am more surprised' - Mark Clattenburg gives verdict on Everton penalty controversy in Fulham win
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg weighed in on the call to refuse Fulham a stoppage time penalty against Everton. The home players leapt in unison when Adama Traore's cross struck the outstretched arm of Vitalii Mykolenko inside the Blues' box.
Referee Darren England waved away those claims but was then sent to the monitor to review his decision by VAR.
Unusually, he stuck with his original call and Everton were able to see out the final minutes in comfort to secure a 3-1 win.
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The Premier League match centre later explained: 'VAR checked the referee's call of no penalty for a possible handball by Mykolenko – and deemed that his arm was away from his body, therefore recommended an on-field review.
'Upon review, the referee deemed that Mykolenko's arm was in a justifiable position given his actions and retained the original decision of no penalty.'
For Clattenburg, the controversy was not over England's steadfastness but in the referee being asked to review the incident.
He told the website Everton News: 'Premier League referees have different criteria when it comes to handball and I was not surprised it was not given in the end.
'There have been less than 10 penalties given all season for handball so there is a stricter approach on what constitutes a penalty. Mykolenko's arm is slightly away from the body but he tries to move it away as the ball comes in from a short distance.'
Clattenburg added: 'I am more surprised a very experienced VAR in Michael Salisbury would recommend a review when this is not a clear and obvious error from the referee Darren England.
'We do not see very often referees after going to a review to stick with their original decision, so England needs to be applauded for this and in the end, the right decision was reached as I don't believe that this is a penalty.'

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