Everton Draw 3-3 with Man City Amid VAR Debates on Offside Goal, Penalty and Red Card

Everton's 3-3 draw with Manchester City delivered late goals, a defensive mistake and video assistant referee controversy.

Thierno Barry scored for Everton after Marc Guehi's poor back pass from an offside position. Everton manager David Moyes said he was amazed his team did not get a penalty when Bernardo Silva pulled down Merlin Rohl in the final five minutes. Michael Keane's high challenge on Jeremy Doku raised red-card questions.

VAR Paul Howard left all three decisions to referee Michael Oliver's on-field calls at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Barry waited on Guehi's shoulder as Rohl played a through ball. The pass went straight to Guehi. Barry moved toward the ball but did not pressure Guehi, who underhit the back pass. Barry latched on and scored.

The assistant referee flagged for offside, but Oliver overruled it. The law considers if Barry influenced Guehi's pass or if Guehi expected a controlled outcome.

"Barry is in an offside position when the ball is played but it's down to Guehi," former Manchester City and Everton defender Andy Hinchcliffe said on Sky Sports. "He is in control of his actions, so suddenly the attacker goes from offside to onside. That is why the goal rightly stands. That is disastrous from Guehi."

Such defensive errors cancel offside without subjective judgments. Similar cases include Bruno Fernandes' goal in the Manchester derby three years ago, where Marcus Rashford ran from offside but did not touch the ball. Last April, Luis Diaz stood offside behind James Tarkowski, leading to Diogo Jota's winner for Liverpool.

Defenders know opponents are near but not always offside. Making offside binary would rule out more goals.

"If that doesn't get given as a penalty, then it's an absolute free-for-all from now on," Moyes said after Rohl went down at an 85th-minute corner. "I might have to start coaching my defenders how to defend differently completely. It looks like now you're able to sort of grapple and wrestle on the ground if you want. I'm absolutely amazed."

Howard checked but ruled the foul occurred before the ball was in play. No penalty or free kick follows, though discipline can apply. Last season, Southampton's Jack Stephens got a red card for pulling Chelsea's Marc Cucurella's hair during a corner.

Pushing often happens before corners. In February, Erling Haaland sought a penalty after Tottenham's Radu Dragusin held him, but it ended before the kick.

Silva wrapped both arms around Rohl's waist with no play for the ball. Everton fans say holding continued as James Garner took the corner and VAR should have acted.

Everton frustration grows with VAR stats. With three rounds left, they are the only Premier League team without a favorable overturn. No other has fewer than two; Chelsea has 11. Their last gain was a January 2025 penalty at Brighton.

Keane slid at pace into Doku on the left flank. Oliver showed yellow, as contact hit Doku's boot low. Higher contact might have prompted VAR.

"A challenge like that is very close to ticking the boxes [of a red card]," Hinchcliffe said. "He is very lucky to get away with that one. If it was any higher it may have been different."

Bruno Fernandes made a similar boot challenge on Dominik Szoboszlai in Manchester United's 3-2 win over Liverpool Sunday, earning yellow.

Doku left for 30 seconds despite Keane's booking. Laws allow a fouled player to stay for quick treatment within 20 or 30 seconds after yellow or red. The game stopped two minutes, but physio time was 30 seconds, leaving Doku unfortunate.