Frank Lampard reacts to Stuart Attwell appointment after 'huge' decisions claim for Everton

Frank Lampard has had his say on the appointment of Stuart Attwell as referee for Everton's clash against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.

The official was on VAR duty for the Blues' game against Newcastle United on Thursday which saw fans angry at many decisions that went against their side. Top of that list was a red card for Allan as he brought down Allan Saint-Maximin.

The Brazilian's tackle was initially given a yellow card by on-field official Craig Pawson, but after advice from Attwell to view his pitch-side monitor the referee brandished a red. Everton's appeals to overturn or reduce the severity of their player's punishment were both rejected on Friday.

However, Lampard is not concerned by Attwell personally. The manager respects the difficulty of the job for referees, and just hopes the official gets his decisions right on Sunday.

The Everton boss remarked: "It's not a Stuart Attwell question, it's not an individual question. It's just a feeling, and a strong feeling on our end, that two huge decisions have gone against us. It didn't affect the game last night (Thursday) fortunately, but it will do going forward and Man City affected us intangibly, we probably get a point if we score the penalty.

"But I respect the referees and the roles they play. The job they have is so, so difficult but I just feel we've been let down in consistency and been on the wrong end of decisions personally. But that's not a slant on Stuart Attwell at all, I just hope he gets decisions right on Sunday!"

The Blues were able to keep a clean sheet against Newcastle, for the first time since their victory over Leeds United in February. That pleased Lampard, and he particularly chose to focus on the performances of two defenders in