Bent raises 'Horrific' Everton example in radical call for refereeing change

Darren Bents wants the Premier League to appoint referees from abroad to improve standards, citing the Everton and Nottingham Forest game from last season as an example.

In the previous campaign, the Tricky Trees visited Goodison Park on 21 April in the league, and the Key Match Incident Panel said that Nuno Espirito Santo’s team should’ve been awarded a penalty in the game [BBC, 30 April].

Ashley Young was involved in multiple instances, but one stood out as he brought down Callum Hudson-Odoi in the box, which wasn’t penalised, and Bent used that incident to make his point on TalkSPORT [29 October, 18:13].

“We’ve seen so many where you go ‘really?’,” he said. “Do you remember the Everton one [against Forest]? There were two or three decisions.

“One was Ashley Young hacking down somebody and it didn’t get given. Horrific. Whether they’ve got to go into Europe and see what they’re doing. There’s got to be a way to make referees better.

“If you don’t want to allow referees from other countries to come over here and it’s seen as bad, then unfortunately, that’s what you’re going to have to do till the level is raised.”

Everton need stability this season

The Toffees have been in relegation battles over the years, and while VAR decisions have improved some aspects of the game, the decisions can also be detrimental at times.

At the bottom of the table, there isn’t much room for error, and Forest would’ve had every right to be aggrieved had they been relegated last season.

It’s imperative that the Blues make steady progress in the coming months, with the club currently sitting 16th in the table.

Sean Dyche is renowned for his time at Burnley, where he managed to keep them in the top flight for several seasons with his practical approach.

While the English manager deserves praise for what he has done, Evertonians will want to see a change soon, either in the style of play or manager, with the club set to move to a new stadium next season.

The Friedkin Group have big decisions to make if and when their takeover is official, although making a change in the dugout supposedly isn’t on their agenda [the i, 22 October].

In other Everton news, TFG have been backed to make a swift drastic change to the new Everton stadium.

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