Premier League make announcement about Thierno Barry controversy in Everton win vs Coventry

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Published on: 06 Nov 2026, 10:13 pm Everton's 3-1 win againstCoventry Citywas filled with controversial incidents on Friday night. After a dull first half ended with a penalty shout for the away side at Hill Dickinson Stadium after James Tarkowski pulled Caleb Yirenkyi's hair in the box, the match sparked into life after the break.

Coventry took the lead through Yann Gboho and also thought they should have had a second penalty before VAR decided that a Vitalii Mykolenko challenge made impact outside of the box. Thierno Barry then scored a quickfire double in the 56th and 61st minutes before Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall rounded off the win in the 81st minute.

However, there was a lot of controversy surrounding Barry's second goal. Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie thought it should have been ruled out but a new announcement from the Premier League Match Centre has shed light on the incident.

Why Thierno Barry's goal could have been ruled out It was no doubt a scrappy goal by Barry, but initial replays did seem to suggest that the ball came off his hand before the ball found its way into the back of Carl Rushworth's net. However, after a VAR check, the goal was allowed to stand, before footage of a new angle seemed to show that the ball might not have hit the Everton striker's hand.

On-field referee Stuart Attwell didn't spot the initial incident but VAR Timothy Wood didn't believe that there was a reason to send Attwell to the pitchside monitor. "Okay, that's his side that's definitely not hand.

Confirming the on-field decision of goal, check complete," said Wood, as quoted by the Premier League Match Centre's official X account. #EVECOV- 62' The referee's call of goal to Everton was checked and confirmed by VAR - with it deemed that Barry did not commit a handball offence.

VAR: "Okay, that's his side that's definitely not hand. Confirming the on-field decision of goal, check complete".