Everton boss Frank Lampard has been charged by the FA following comments he made about refereeing decisions in the 2-0 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, April 24. Lampard's comments are said to amount to 'improper conduct' for calling into dispute the integrity of the referee.
The former Chelsea midfielder made the comments after Everton were denied two penalties. Both incidents concerned Anthony Gordon, with the first seeing the Everton winger handed a yellow card for diving. The second came as he got ahead of Joel Matip and went down in the penalty area after feeling contact from behind.
This appeal was waved away as not being seen as enough force to be deemed a penalty. VAR did not intervene in either case.
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Following the Merseyside derby defeat, Lampard said: “It is a penalty for me. You don’t get them here. If that was Mo Salah at the other end he gets a penalty. I’m not trying to create conflict; it’s just the reality of football.
“I have played in teams in the top half of the league – you get them. That was a penalty for sure. It’s a clear foul.”
The FA's statement read: “Frank Lampard has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to post-match media comments that he made following Everton FC’s Premier League match against Liverpool FC on Sunday 24 April.
“It is alleged the manager’s comments constitute improper conduct as they imply bias and/or attack the integrity of the match referee – or referees generally – and/or bring the game into disrepute contrary to FA Rule E3.1.
“Frank Lampard has until Monday 9 May 2022 to provide a response.”
Since that game, the Toffees have closed the gap to 17th place Leeds United to two points. The Whites drew at Crystal Palace, before losing 4-0 to Manchester City at Elland Road last Sunday, whilst Everton were able to make up ground with a victory over Chelsea.
The Toffees now have the advantage of having a game in hand over Jesse Marsch's team, with one of their run of fixtures coming against a doomed-looking Watford. If Leeds are to re-establish a gap over Everton before the final day, they may well need results against Arsenal and Chelsea in their next two fixtures.
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