Christian Norgaard was sent off for a high tackle on Jordan Pickford during Everton’s match against Brentford
Brentford defender Sepp van den Berg knew his side were in trouble the minute referee Chris Kavanagh headed to the pitchside monitor. Bees boss Thomas Frank confirmed after the goalless draw against Everton at Goodison Park that his club intended to appeal Christian Norgaard’s red card after claiming Kavanagh was not brave enough to ignore the advice of VAR to dismiss the midfielder.
The Dane was sent off following VAR intervention after catching Jordan Pickford on his knee as he slid in attempting to break the deadlock towards the end of the first-half. However, Kavanagh failed to award even a foul when the incident took place but was advised to review the tackle on the pitchside monitor.
And the minute the match official made his way to the screen, Van den Berg knew his skipper was in trouble, revealing: “To be honest, yeah. I think in general if the ref doesn’t see it and the guy inside sees it, he overrules the decision.
READ MORE: ‘Trouble at Sean Dyche’s door’ – National media react to Everton draw with Brentford and full-time boosREAD MORE: Jordan Pickford makes Everton injury claim and delivers new Brentford red card verdict
“That’s just how it goes nowadays. It is unlucky, I haven’t seen it myself, but if a guy with a screen watches it, he must be right. It was a big blow, but there is nothing we can do about it.”
Asked about the red card, the centre-back added: “I haven’t seen it, but if I listen to what the skip said, he went for the ball, and of course he touches him.
“I think it is a bit unlucky. Not much to say. It’s the ref’s decision, and we have to deal with it. I think we did that well.”
The Bees were forced to play the entire second-half with a 10-men, but Everton failed to make their numerical advantage count. And Van den Berg took pride in the manner in which his side ensured they did not endure a ‘nightmare’ Goodison experience.
He said: “I already know what we are capable of. Before the game, we knew where we were going.
“The manager said many times that Goodison Park is one of the best places to play at if you make it the best place; otherwise, it can be a nightmare with the fans here.
“I think we got this well. We did the right things at the right moments. We kept the ball when we needed instead of going up and down the pitch and giving the fans energy. I think we did well, and with 10 men we can be very proud.
“It was very hard. We were OK with 11, created some chances, but when we received the red card, we knew it would be a hard game.
“I think we did well, the whole team never gave up, defended with everything we got and deserved the point.
“We had a big chance in the first half when Wissa was clean through one on one, and then we had one in the second half when Matty just missed the target.
“We defended well, and you are just waiting on those moments. We defended the crosses, but unfortunately we couldn’t score one. We are very happy with the point.”
