Everton are back in Premier League action this weekend with an away trip to the high-flying Nottingham Forest.
The Toffees were able to bounce back from their Merseyside Derby defeat with an impressive draw against Arsenal.
David Moyes will be looking back on that point over the weekend with a lot more pride following Arsenal’s victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday.
Everton do, however, need to get back to winning ways with their last Premier League victory coming away to Crystal Palace in February.
Mikel Arteta name dropped Everton after their Madrid triumph, with the Blues able to do something the champions of Europe were unable to.
However, the Toffees may already feel up against it ahead of their trip to the City Ground after the Premier League’s latest referee announcement.
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty ImagesJohn Brooks on VAR for Nottingham Forest vs Everton
The Premier League could make Everton’s Goodison Park finale a Monday night game, which would not go down well with the fans.
And the latest round of Premier League referee appointments for this weekend will also spark a lot of controversy on Merseyside.
- Referee: Craig Pawson
- Linesmen: Tim Wood & Craig Taylor
- Fourth official: Anthony Backhouse
- VAR: John Brooks
- Assistant VAR: Akil Howson
VAR for the weekend, Brooks, has previously refereed 14 Everton games with little success coming the way of the Blues.
This will be the first weekend the Premier League will use SAOT as Everton will sigh relief as offside decisions will not be made by VAR officials.
And there is one man who certainly will not have appreciated the appointment of Brooks for this game, in particular.
What Sean Dyche said about John Brooks vs Nottingham Forest
After Forest and Everton drew 2-2 back in 2023, Sean Dyche and Steve Cooper both criticised referee Brooks for his performance against their sides.
Dyche has been slammed since Everton sacked him, but it would be fair to say a lot of fans will likely share his frustration over this appointment.
Speaking after the game at the City Ground two years ago, Dyche admitted he had to speak to Brooks after what he saw from the Premier League official.
“Amazed we didn’t get a second penalty, but I don’t know what’s a penalty any more,” said the 53-year-old.
“You touch someone on the shoulder and they go down, it’s a penalty. Seamus gets there, puts his foot in front of him, he kicks his foot and it’s not a penalty. I don’t know where that lives.
“I asked the referee and he didn’t think it was a penalty. I said ‘I don’t know what is then’. My way of looking at it is, if someone has broken in front of you, if you touch or are around them, even in my day, it is a penalty.”