Everton fans rage as footage shows NOTHING on main VAR monitor as referee Simon Hooper overturned Dominic Calvert-Lewin penalty decision – but chiefs insist he COULD see a replay as explanation is revealed

Everton fans are in an uproar after it initially appeared referee Simon Hooper failed to see anything on the main VAR screen when he overturned his decision to award Dominic Calvert-Lewin a penalty against Brighton on Saturday.

Everton were initially awarded a penalty in the second half to equalise after going 3-0 down, after Lewis Dunk appeared to foul Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

But Hooper was called to the screen to think about his decision and he reversed his decision, sparking anger.

Jordan Pickford walked up to the referee to protest after the main screen only showed generic VAR and Premier League logos and there was no replay of the incident.

However, the Premier League have insisted that Hooper was allowed to watch the incident on a backup monitor, as per their match report.

Jordan Pickford rushed over to Hooper to protest, with Everton trailing 1-0

But Hooper was actually looking at a backup monitor while the main screen was not functioning, the Premier League explained

The Premier League Match Centre also said on X: ‘The referee awarded a penalty to Everton for a foul by Dunk on Calvert-Lewin. VAR advised an on-field review as he deemed that Calvert-Lewin’s foot had landed on Dunk’s foot and there had been no foul. The referee reversed the original decision and restarted play with a dropped ball.’

ESPN’s Dale Johnson posted photos showing the backup screen lying flat on the ground, face up, and footage of Hooper looking at it while the main VAR screen was not functioning.

Everton fans reacted furiously to the incident, but the explanation seems to make it clear what happened without any problem.

It was a disastrous start to the Premier League season for the Toffees, as they lost 3-0 at home and Ashley Young was sent off.

Kaoru Mitoma opened the scoring in the first half with his first goal since September.

Danny Welbeck doubled Brighton’s lead in the 56th minute with a fine corner from the edge of the penalty area, making it his 15th consecutive Premier League goal.

He then provided a superb outside-of-the-foot pass for Simon Adingra, whose finish secured the three points on Fabian Hurzeler’s debut as Seagulls manager.

Everton manager Sean Dyche was furious afterwards that the penalty had been disallowed because Calvert-Lewin’s foot had landed on Dunk’s.

Sean Dyche believes Hooper should have stuck to his decision to award Calvert-Lewin a penalty

He said: ‘I can’t figure it out about the penalty. He (the referee) makes a decision at a perfect vantage point and lo and behold, he’s called to cancel the penalty.

‘What’s the point of setting the bar high? We’ve had meetings about it.

‘Their player loses control of the floor and is dragging his foot with the top of his foot and the bottom of Dom’s foot, clearly pulling him to the floor.

‘That’s contact in the box and we’ve all seen the smallest things that are given as penalties – someone steps on a toe and gives a penalty. So I think we’re all confused by that.’

Dyche’s comments may not be welcomed by the authorities as the Premier League’s chief football officer Tony Scholes and chief referee Howard Webb held pre-season meetings with managers in which they warned that offensive VAR decisions would undermine confidence in the league.

Brighton manager Hurzeler said it was ‘clear’ the original penalty was wrong and should have been overturned.

Mail Sport has contacted the PGMOL and the Premier League for comment.