'Just kills the game' - Jarrad Branthwaite claims Everton were denied a 'clear goal' against Tottenham

Jarrad Branthwaite has slammed the decision to disallow Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s strike against Tottenham Hotspur - claiming Everton were denied a "clear goal".

The Blues were left to rue the controversial VAR call, which contributed to their four-game Premier League winning run coming to an end at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Spurs were two up inside 18 minutes after close-range finishes by Richarlison and Son Heung-min, but Everton thought they had a route back into the game six minutes into the second half.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin rifled home after Andre Gomes had won back possession from Emerson Royal, but Michael Oliver, on VAR duty, told referee Stuart Attwell to review the incident, and he disallowed the strike after the Portugal international was adjudged to have caught the Tottenham full-back on his ankle.

Blues boss Sean Dyche labelled the decision to overrule the goal as 're-refereeing' the game, while Branthwaite believes Royal just simply fell over and that everyone in the ground knew it was not a foul.

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He said: “It was never a foul in my eyes. They put it on the big screen, and I think everyone sees. Once [the referee] goes over to the monitor, he’s going to give it.

“It’s never a foul and it just kills the game. It should be a clear goal for me. He hasn’t won the ball, but he hasn’t touched the man, and he just falls over. It’s one of those things and we can’t do anything about it now.”

Gomes eventually reduced the deficit in the 82nd minute before substitute Arnaut Danjuma hit the crossbar in the dying seconds. But despite the encouraging