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Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes Craig Pawson made the right decision not to award Everton a penalty in Saturday's 0-0 draw with Newcastle United.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin was bundled to the ground by Dan Burn midway through the second half as he attempted to rebound the ball past Nick Pope. The incident was checked by VAR, who approved Pawson's original decision not to award a spot-kick to Sean Dyche's side. But in his post-match press conference, the Blues boss admitted to being perplexed by the call not to penalise Burn.

Gallagher, though, insists the decision made by Pawson and the VAR was the correct one: "Dan Burn is being clever and puts his foot across to protect the ball and Dominic has actually kicked him rather than the other way around," said the former referee on Sky Sports.

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"That’s why it hasn’t been given. Gordon was kicked by Kalvin Phillips (Newcastle vs West Ham United - March 2024), he put his leg across, as Dan Burn did.

"The kicker was Kalvin Phillips (the leg went across). The referee gave a penalty because the person whose leg was kicked got a penalty, the person whose leg was kicked didn’t give away a penalty. It’s the same."

Before the late drama at Goodison Park, Newcastle had squandered the opportunity to win the game as Anthony Gordon saw his first-half penalty saved by Jordan Pickford.

The Magpies had been awarded a spot kick after James Tarkowski bundled Sandro Tonali to the ground just before half-time, but Gordon's subsequent effort was saved by his former Everton team-mate Pickford.