Lampard says Tarkowski hair pull should have led to Coventry penalty after 3-1 defeat at Everton

Coventry boss Frank Lampard said a hair pull by James Tarkowski should have resulted in a penalty after his side lost 3-1 at Everton in a Premier League match on Friday. Thierno Barry scored twice and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall added a late goal as Everton recovered from Yann Gboho's second-half strike to claim the win.

Lampard questioned why his team were not awarded a spot-kick after what he described as one of three key decisions that went against Coventry in the defeat at Everton. The incident involved Tarkowski tugging Caleb Yirenkyi's hair while jumping for the ball, but referee Stuart Attwell dismissed Coventry's penalty claims. The rules around hair pulling were relaxed this season and do not automatically result in a foul or a red card, with excessive force and intent taken into consideration.

Lampard said: "They're saying it's not enough of a pull and I think it's a hard area to be in. What is a hair pull? You've decided it is but it's not enough. "I have looked at them, sometimes with emotions in the moment you can't be clear on the sidelines. "I think the rules are fine. It's not a red card. I kind of get that because I think in a game of football there's a lot of stuff happens that's not absolutely dramatic. "You know they can happen but I think if the the rule remains that it's a foul so I felt it was a foul."

Lampard also raised two further contentious moments from the match, saying Taiwo Awoniyi was fouled by Vitalii Mykolenko before Coventry took the lead and that Barry handled the ball before his second goal, although video assistant referee Timothy Wood ruled there was no handball offence. He said: "Taiwo for me on the line of the box is a penalty. You've got to give the foul in real time anyway, the ref did let it go, and I felt it was a penalty. "The Barry one is handball, I've heard they are saying it didn't touch his hand but I've seen an angle where he has flicked it in with the final touch. VAR is there for that. "I can't sit here and say I know everything and they should give all three of them, if one or two of them don't go our way, but they would clearly change the game."

Everton manager David Moyes rejected the suggestion Barry handled the ball and told reporters the hair-pull rule should be reviewed. The Scot said: "We've had plenty [of decisions] which have gone against us. It certainly doesn't hit his hand. "The hair pull rule has changed so it would be a booking if it was but I still think it's ridiculous that rule is in the game. I can't understand why they don't fix this completely because I don't see it as a good rule at all."

A match review noted three significant VAR-related decisions that went against Coventry and assessed how recent rule changes affected the incidents. The law on hair pulling was relaxed after three players were sent off last season; while that change aims to limit red cards, a deliberate tug that constitutes a foul should still be penalised and, if inside the area, could lead to a spot-kick. Observers pointed to movement of Tarkowski's arm that appeared to pull the hair, an action they argued should have prompted VAR intervention and might have resulted in a penalty.

The review also examined the two other contentious moments: replays suggested Mykolenko's contact with Awoniyi occurred at or outside the penalty-area line, which would prevent VAR from changing the on-field decision to a free-kick, and the footage of Barry's second goal showed a possible flick onto his arm before the ball went in, but VAR Timothy Wood judged there was insufficient conclusive evidence to overturn the goal; a similar handball controversy was noted in a previous incident when Nottingham Forest had a goal against Tottenham disallowed.

The defeat leaves Coventry 16th in the Premier League and Everton fifth after the win.