Leeds United won on their Premier League return with a controversial penalty being awarded against Everton defender James Tarkowski.
Lukas Nmecha scored the only goal of the game at Elland Road after 84 minutes, with Chris Kavanagh deciding to give the hosts a spot kick.
James Tarkowski is the player whose arm the ball struck, and after a brief pause and much commotion from the home support, the referee pointed to the spot.
Everton’s players were incensed by the decision to award the spot kick, but VAR opted to stick with the on-field decision of penalty.
After the game, both David Moyes and Daniel Farke gave their takes on the incident and it’s fair to say the two were not in agreement.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty ImagesDaniel Farke backs penalty decision, but David Moyes completely disagrees
Moyes believes that it was a harsh decision to award a penalty against his Everton side, which led to Leeds’ winning goal in West Yorkshire.
The Everton boss was left bemused as to where his captain was supposed to put his arm, which was by his side when he attempted to make the block.
Moyes told Sky Sports: “I think the goal was completely wrong, really harsh. So it’s difficult to lose on that. Yeah, I’ve spoken to the referee.
“They seem to think that because you lean, your arms can go away if you lean, and that’s amazing.
Also, of course, you know, in football, nobody says in the rules unless somebody’s going to put one in, whatever your leniency is, apparently, it took a deflection on the ball.
🗣️ “Tarky would have had to get his arm chopped off!”
David Moyes says he has spoken to the referee about the penalty decision but believes it was really harsh 🔊 pic.twitter.com/vhApzvMA8J
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 18, 2025
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“I don’t know where Tarkowski would have had to get his arm chopped off for it to be given. It wasn’t as if it was outside his body; he wasn’t doing anything different, just leaning across.
“I’ve only seen the referees in some of the performances, but tonight our decision was a poor decision. But it might not have been the referee. I think VAR had a chance to get that decision right, and I felt as though it wasn’t fair.”
Unsurprisingly, Farke backed the decision to give his side the penalty, but admitted that he hadn’t watched the incident back before giving his response.
Farke admitted: “I haven’t watched it back, but on the field, it felt like it was a penalty. Maybe it was overemotional with the roar of the stadium.
“I was a bit worried because the check was so long that maybe the on-field decision would not stand. “
Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville think James Tarkowski’s penalty decision was correct
Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville were both in agreement that the penalty awarded against Tarkowski was the correct decision.
Carragher claimed: “It’s handball. I think it is, James Tarkowski knows what he’s doing and something I would do. The only thing I’m thinking is, has he lost his bearings? He is in the middle of the goal, but it’s a split-second decision.”
Meanwhile, Neville said: “I think it’s definitely a penalty. I think because of the distance it’s travelled, he points towards his arm!”
Neville was not too complimentary of the Everton defender, claiming that he needed to show better composure and trust his goalkeeper to make the save.
“James Tarkowski is the type of defender that feels like he needs to get in front of every single shot and what I mean by that is that he maybe could have just composed himself, let that ball go through to Jordan Pickford, who would have saved it,” added the former Man United man.