Everton were denied a clear penalty during their thrilling 3-3 draw against Manchester City—a decision that could have massive implications for their European hopes. The Premier League's Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel has now confirmed that the Toffees should have been awarded a spot-kick when Bernardo Silva was caught holding back midfielder Merlin Rohl during a corner kick. At the time, Everton were leading 3-2 at Hill Dickinson Stadium, and a penalty could have sealed a vital victory.

The incident went unnoticed by referee Michael Oliver, and VAR official Paul Howard ruled that the holding occurred before the corner was taken, meaning he couldn't intervene. This left manager David Moyes visibly frustrated after the match. The KMI panel, however, was unanimous in its verdict. "There is a clear, sustained holding offence which continues as the corner is taken and the ball comes into play," the official report stated.

Manchester City capitalized on the missed call, with Jeremy Doku scoring a dramatic 96th-minute equalizer to snatch a point. For Everton, the result stings even more given their recent VAR woes. They were also denied a penalty via video review in a 1-0 home loss to Arsenal in December and a 2-1 defeat at West Ham last month. In fact, Everton are the only Premier League team yet to receive a single VAR intervention in their favor this season.

With just two matches remaining, the Toffees will need every point they can get to keep their European dreams alive. A win against City would have moved them within four points of the continental places, making this missed call a potentially costly one in their pursuit of a top-seven finish.