Dermot Gallagher shares what VAR said in contentious Everton moment v Southampton

Mon 4 November 2024 13:52, UK

Dermot Gallagher can fully understand why VAR Matt Donohue took so long to rule out Beto’s goal for Everton in the 1-0 loss to Southampton.

The Toffees thought they’d scored another last-minute equaliser in their Premier League clash against Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday (2 November), but instead the Guinea-Bissau international’s strike was chalked off.

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Speaking live on Sky Sports News (4 November, 11:23am), former Premier League referee Gallagher shared his verdict on the call, including an insight into what the VAR team had to say.

“It’s a really tight call. When I looked at it [in real time] I thought he was just onside, but when you look at it he’s just offside. This is where VAR is so accurate,” he said.

“When semi-automated comes, it’ll be cleared up much quicker. It was only the VAR’s second game and he wanted to make sure everything was right so took his time. You’d rather that if the decision is right.

“In fairness, it was very complex [which is why it took four minutes to decide]. I heard him say ‘you’re going to have to bear with me because it’s so tight’.”

Beto may find himself starting for Everton in the near future

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been Everton’s leading talisman for many years now, and on his day he can be one of the best number nines in the league, but those performances haven’t come consistently enough over the last couple of seasons.

While the Toffees’ team may look worse without the Englishman in it, when Beto was brought on in their last two games, Everton’s dynamic completely changed.

In fact, his cameo appearance against Fulham was incredibly effective as he managed to bag a last-minute equaliser so that Dyche’s men didn’t leave Goodison Park empty-handed.

Everton forward Beto [Credit: Imago]

When the recent form of both strikers is taken into account, it’s hard to see why the former Burnley boss wouldn’t at least give Beto a chance to start.

He’s offered much more than what Calvert-Lewin has done recently and, if he can find some goal-scoring form, he could end up saving them millions as the club wouldn’t be tempted to activate the buy option in Armando Broja’s loan deal.

These are all just rumours at the moment, of course, but on paper, bringing in the former Udinese man seems like the logical thing to do.