Everton manager Frank Lampard was fined £30,000 by the Football Association (FA) for media comments he made following his side’s 2-0 defeat to rivals Liverpool in the Merseyside derby in April 2022.
Lampard’s frustration stemmed from a specific incident in the penalty area involving Everton forward Anthony Gordon and Liverpool defender Joel Matip. With the game still goalless, Gordon went down after Matip’s challenge, but referee Stuart Attwell did not award a penalty, nor was the incident reviewed further by VAR. Eight minutes after the challenge, Liverpool opened the scoring through Andy Robertson, eventually sealing the 2-0 win with a Divock Origi goal.
Lampard strongly suggested after the match that the lack of a penalty decision was influenced by the match being played at Anfield.
His critical remarks were:
“It was a penalty, you don’t get them at Anfield. If that was Mohamed Salah at the Kop end, I think [the referee] gives that. It was a foul on Anthony.”
The FA ruled that Lampard had breached FA rule E3, specifically regarding media comments proven during a personal hearing, which implies an integrity concern about the comments suggesting bias. Following the match, Everton had formally contacted the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to query why the challenge on Gordon was not reviewed.
