Everton Fans' Forum has taken to X, formerly Twitter, to voice their disappointment with both Howard Webb and the PGMOL as a whole for failing to provide clear and direct answers to concerns raised in relation to potential unconscious bias among referees.
Contact between the two parties was first made in January 2024 after a string of questionable decisions were given against the Toffees in the month previous – upsetting their supporters in the process.
Everton fans frustrated with Howard Webb and PGMOL
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Who are the Everton Fans' Forum?
Unsurprisingly, the organisation is an Everton fan group that aims to provide a voice for all Evertonians and regularly meets with club and league officials to discuss fan-related issues.
As well as tackling concerns raised in regard to refereeing, the group have also been a constant voice throughout the club's profit and sustainability debacle and the point deductions that were then put into place as a result.
What has the Everton Fans' Forum said?
On 28/03/24 we received a response to our letter/meeting with PGMOL. We felt that this was generic and did not answer any of our concerns or questions.
We requested a more detailed follow up by 5pm today (12/04/24).
— Everton Fans' Forum (@EFC_FansForum) April 12, 2024
In relation to the issue of poor referring decisions made against the Toffees during the festive period, the group have been in contact with Webb and the PGMOL since January. Initial discussion appeared to be going well, but, unfortunately, that could not be sustained.
On April 12 the group took to X to say: “On 28/03/24 we received a response to our letter/meeting with PGMOL. We felt that this was generic and did not answer any of our concerns or questions. We requested a more detailed follow-up by 5pm today [April 12].
“We can confirm that no further correspondence had been received from PGMOL. We are severely disappointed by this especially after positive engagement by PGMOL. Evertonians have a right to feel let down by the lack of direct response to questions posed to PGMOL.”
The group then vowed to continue to fight for the answers that supporters of the club deserve.
What concerns had been raised?
When contact was first made with the PGMOL, there were three main issues that the group wanted to discuss which were as follows:
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin's red card against Crystal Palace
- A lack of consistency in the use of VAR
- Penalty decisions against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur
Several other points were raised, and the over-arching message was that Everton as a football club felt aggrieved that multiple decisions had wrongly gone against them.
At this stage, Webb was keen to remind the Everton Fans' Forum that all key incidents from a game are reviewed by a panel, with any injustices being addressed in the process.
This vague response sparked anger from the fan group and was the initial cause behind them requesting further clarification from the PGMOL regarding the aforementioned concerns.