Everton and VAR have had a complicated relationship.

The club has been at the heart of some of the biggest flashpoints since the introduction of the process, none more so than the Rodri non-penalty award as Manchester City chased the title at Goodison Park.

It should not be overlooked that VAR has led to important goals against Everton correctly being struck off, most recently Dan Burn's strike that would have put Newcastle United 2-0 up in a game that Everton instead earned a morale-boosting draw from. But that is only one side of the story and Sean Dyche has repeatedly been lost for words over decisions against the club, even though he supports VAR in principle. It reached the point where Blues even had discussions with referees chief Howard Webb following a flurry of contentious calls.

As Premier League clubs prepare to vote on the future of VAR, this is a look at its most controversial interventions - or non-interventions - involving Everton.

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Rodri handball

One of the most significant VAR talking points since its inception was the March 2022 decision not to award Everton a penalty against Manchester City in a game that had repercussions at both ends of the table. Neither referee Paul Tierney nor VAR Chris Kavanagh deemed a penalty should be awarded when the ball struck Rodri’s arm in a game the visitors went on to win 1-0. The decision prevented Everton from a result that would have been helpful to its relegation fight - and also proved pivotal in City pipping Liverpool to the title that year. Then Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) boss Mike Riley later contacted Everton to apologise for the decision.

Jordan Ayew’s ‘not reckless enough’ lunge

As Everton struggled towards safety that spring, a slew of further questionable decisions continued to undermine the side’s efforts. One big call was the intervention of VAR after Allan was awarded a yellow card for a challenge on Allan Saint-Maximin in the closing stages of the home game with Newcastle United. A lengthy check ended with the midfielder being sent off, to the fury of Everton - which appealed the decision and lost. The Blues went on to clinch a crucial win when Alex Iwobi struck deep into stoppage time, but Allan was ruled out of three matches - the FA Cup trip to Crystal Palace and the league visits to West Ham United and Burnley. Everton lost all three.

In the weeks that followed there were more high-profile incidents. Then manager Frank Lampard was fined £30,000 for his reaction to Anthony Gordon not receiving a penalty in a big moment at Anfield before Everton had good reason to feel aggrieved as the season looked destined to collapse in the penultimate match at home to Crystal Palace. Needing a win to prevent the side from needing a positive result at Champions League-chasing Arsenal, Jordan Ayew received only a yellow card for a reckless lunge on Gordon in front of the dug-outs. Match officials confirmed the challenge was considered “reckless” - just not reckless enough for a red card. To make matters worse, Ayew scored minutes later as Palace took a 2-0 lead. A memorable comeback in the second half led to Everton securing safety but this was a battle many associated with the Blues feel was won in spite of VAR.

The draws that could have become crucial wins

Frank Lampard’s Everton reign crumbled over the Christmas and New Year of 2022/23, the end beginning with three defeats in a week across the league and Carabao Cup before a World Cup break that failed to lead to a reset on the pitch. The achievements of Dyche suggest his appointment was a development the club needed, but Lampard may have had a bigger safety net had he enjoyed better luck in the autumn. There was still a feel-good factor to the new season when Liverpool arrived at Goodison and Everton matched their rivals in a thrilling draw that saw Tom Davies hit the post and Conor Coady having a goal narrowly ruled out for offside. The margins were tight enough that day to suggest that had Virgil van Dijk been sent off for a lunge on Amadou Onana in the second half that Everton’s afternoon could have improved. Instead he was shown a yellow. At Fulham, the last game before the nightmare against Leicester City and Bournemouth, Everton supporters were left incensed when Aleksandar Mitrovic avoided a straight red for a stamp-like challenge on Idrissa Gueye in the opening stages at Craven Cottage. Everton drew that game but were left feeling hard done by. Had either of those draws turned into victories the momentum at Goodison could have been different heading into the terrible week before the World Cup break.

Winter of pain leads to dressing room fury

The frustration felt during that Lampard autumn paled in comparison to the recent winter suffered by Everton, a checklist of calls that undermined progress and left the dressing room seething at the harsh treatment it felt was becoming a theme of their campaign.

In the face of an unprecedented 10 point deduction, reduced to six months later, the players improved on a good run of form to pull clear of the relegation zone even with the asterisk next to their tally. Four wins in a row in the league threatened to lift the club to mid-table safety only for Everton to follow up that form with its longest winless streak in the Premier League era. That 13 game stretch began at Tottenham Hotspur, arguably the side’s best performance of that month despite the 2-1 defeat. The two big talking points were the failure to award Everton a penalty when Dejan Kulusevski had a clear hold of Amadou Onana’s shirt - a decision made all the more frustrating when the same player had a spot kick awarded against him for a mirror image foul against Brighton and Hove Albion days later. Andre Gomes’ introduction changed that match and he looked to have created a route back into it when he set up a goal for Dominic Calvert-Lewin at the start of the second half. VAR intervened to rule it out for a foul by Gomes. The decision cost Calvert-Lewin a goal that would have ended his five month goalless streak three months early.

In the games that followed, a penalty was given against Onana when the ball was blasted at him from close range in the narrow home defeat to Manchester City and Everton were again left perplexed at Craven Cottage when Antonee Robinson handled the ball but was not adjudged to have done so illegally. A penalty in that draw would have cut short the winless run before it had threatened to sink Everton.

The worst decision of the lot was the intervention of VAR in the FA Cup third round at Crystal Palace, however. Calvert-Lewin was shown a straight red card - in a decision that was later rescinded - after a tackle that, like with Gomes at Spurs, had been viewed as legitimate by the on-field officials. Not only did it renew Dyche’s concerns about VAR being used to re-referee on-field events, it left the dressing room seething at what players viewed as consistently harsh treatment. Everton Fans’ Forum later wrote to current PGMOL chief Howard Webb for answers - answers it believes it is still waiting for.

The Nottingham Forest chaos after penalty shouts refused

VAR’s use to date has been bookended with Everton at the heart of the controversy over its application. While the Rodri non-handball was one of its earliest high-profile moments, its most recent major flashpoint was at Goodison in a game in which it was used in Everton’s favour - much to the anger of Nottingham Forest. In one of the most dramatic afternoons involving the technology, Forest released a public statement on the final whistle of the club’s defeat in a relegation six-pointer in L4. That statement, which has since led to the club being charged with misconduct by the Football Association, followed a game in which Forest claimed it should have received three penalties. It was awarded none. While the first half calls for a foul on Callum Hudson-Odoi and handball by Ashley Young were debatable, there has been a groundswell of support for the belief a second half challenge by Young on Hudson-Odoi should have led to a penalty. The fallout has become one of the most sensational talking points since VAR was introduced - developing its own storyline that has included additional layers such as Young, at the heart of all three calls, poking at Forest by sharing a playlist that included Justin Timberlake’s hit Cry Me a River on social media the following day.