THE match officials who deprived Everton of the chance to strengthen their grip on fourth place against Blackburn Rovers have been punished for their errors.
Referee Alan Wiley, who failed to show David Dunn a second yellow card for deliberate handball and never pointed to the spot when Andrew Johnson was fouled by Zurab Khizanishvili, will not be allowed to take charge of a game this weekend.
Instead, Staffordshire-based Wiley will have to settle for being the fourth official at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea play Liverpool on Sunday after the Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) admitted his blunders had cost Everton at Ewood Park.
And assistant referee Glenn Turner has been completely dropped from action this weekend after he wrongly flagged Johnson’s 86th minute ‘goal’ as offside when, in actual fact, there were three Blackburn players keeping the Everton striker onside.
Turner is one of the highest rated linesmen in England and has officiated at the World Cup and though it is heartening to see swift action has been taken, it is scant consolation to Moyes and his players, who were robbed of two crucial points.