Lampard VAR complaints after Coventry lose at Everton

"I'm not trying to talk about the circumstances of the actual football, but when big decisions change games, they absolutely do. It's disappointing. VAR is there for that and it didn't do its job."

James Tarkowski and the hair pull on Caleb Yirenkyi

Late in the first half, James Tarkowski rose to defend a high ball into the box, caught Ethan Pinnock with an elbow and then appeared to pull the hair of Caleb Yirenkyi. VAR reviewed the incident, particularly the elbow, and gave nothing. Referee Stuart Attwell had not given a card or a penalty on the field either.

There was no communication from the Premier League Match Centre on whether the hair pull itself was checked. New Premier League guidance this summer says a red card follows a clear and deliberate hair pull with excessive force, and a yellow card if there is no excessive force.

Lampard's reading of it was blunt.

"I thought the rules were clear. I know they've changed the rules so it's no red card, I get that too. But he's pulling on his hair and [Yirenkyi] can't get his momentum to jump. I think it's a foul and a penalty and they decided no."

Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp called it a definite penalty on Friday Night Football, saying Tarkowski stopped any elevation. Co-commentator Lee Hendrie said the elbow was not a problem but the hair pull would raise awareness.

Vitalii Mykolenko and Taiwo Awoniyi

At the start of the second half, Taiwo Awoniyi drove into the box with Vitalii Mykolenko behind him and went down under contact from behind. Attwell said no penalty, and the VAR review decided the contact was outside the box.

Lampard argued Awoniyi's knee and the back of his knee were on the line of the box, which he says makes it a penalty. Redknapp was harsher on the officials, saying they rushed the check.

"It's a definite penalty and it's rubbish from the VAR. It's a poor decision. It's a definite foul, they rush it too quickly, and his foot's on the line."

Thierno Barry's second goal and the handball question

Barry bundled home Tyrique George's cross for Everton's second goal, the one that put them ahead, with the ball bouncing wildly around him. VAR checked for handball and found no conclusive evidence, so the goal stood.

Friday Night Football later revealed what VAR official Timothy Wood said during the check.

"Okay, that's his side, that's definitely not hand. Confirming on-field decision of goal."

Hendrie, on co-commentary, still thought it was handball and should have been ruled out. Lampard agreed with him.

"Barry's second goal comes off his hand... His last touch flicks it in the net. It was a really quick check as well. People may disagree, but it's my opinion."

Barry, for his part, was not losing sleep over it.

"A goal is goal! I scored two goals today... It's the job of the striker to score. I'm in a good moment and I try to keep this feeling."

Redknapp studied the replay forensically and thought it brushed Barry's left hand, but understood why VAR did not step in. In his view it was not clear and obvious enough to overturn.

David Moyes responds to Coventry's complaints

Everton boss David Moyes said he was bothered because he wants results to be right, and pointed to recent calls he felt went against his own team. He mentioned one possibly at Newcastle and one at Man City last season that mattered for European qualification.

"Sometimes they go for you, sometimes they don't. If they were going against me, I'd be complaining a bit more."

Analysis: the guidance versus the call

The elbow is not really the interesting part here. The Premier League's own summer guidance sets out a red or yellow card for hair pulling, yet the on-field and VAR teams landed on no sanction at all. That gap is the core of Lampard's complaint, and it is the sort of thing officials will be asked to explain.

Read the original report from skysports.com.