David Moyes has criticised the decision to deny Everton a penalty in their 1-0 win over Newcastle United, claiming his side have been on the wrong end of "loads" of such calls this season. Thierno Barry was brought down by Fabian Schar at St James' Park, but no penalty was awarded and VAR did not intervene.
Barry denied penalty against Newcastle
The incident occurred during the match on November 2, 2026, with Everton securing a 1-0 victory. Moyes, however, was left frustrated that the officials at Stockley Park did not even review the challenge on Barry.
Asked about adding the incident to a portfolio of similar instances, Moyes said: "Well, Mikel's got one on managers coming out of the box. I've got ones on penalties we've not had here." He added: "No, we've had a few. I don't like going back but the penalty we didn't get against Manchester City, it went to 3-2 and we didn't get the penalty on that night, that was nothing short of unbelievable, incredible."
Previous controversial calls
Moyes referenced a previous incident against Manchester City, saying: "It was our fault, we were 3-1 up and they got to 3-2 but we got an absolute stonewall penalty that we all agreed on and we didn't get it. That was with four games to go last season, it made a huge difference to us, it really did."
Last season, Stuart Attwell, who will referee Everton's home game against Coventry City on Friday, missed a handball by West Ham's Matheus Fernandes when challenging Barry in a 2-1 defeat at London Stadium. The Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel voted 4-1 that this was an error. The panel also voted 3-2 that Barry should have been awarded a penalty in a 1-0 home loss to Arsenal in December, when he was kicked by William Saliba.
Everton's VAR record
During the 2025/26 season, Everton became the first Premier League club in seven seasons of VAR not to receive an overturn in their favour. Moyes expressed hope that fortunes would change as his side prepare to host Coventry City on Friday night.
