Red-carded Ancelotti ‘didn’t disrespect ref’
CARLO ANCELOTTI insisted he did not disrespect Chris Kavanagh when he was sent off for remonstrating with the referee after the final whistle. Everton’s boss could face a touchline ban due to the remarkable scenes at the end of the 1-1 draw with Manchester United. Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s stoppage-time ‘winner’ was chalked off after it was adjudged Gylfi Sigurdsson was in David de Gea’s vision. But Ancelotti was incredulous about the VAR decision and marched on to the pitch to confront Kavanagh. TV microphones picked up the Italian saying: ‘I stay here! I stay here! I want an explanation!’ Kavanagh refused to enter into discussions and, instead, brandished a red card. The FA will wait to see his report before deciding what action to take. ‘I asked for an explanation after the game,’ said Ancelotti. ‘There was a misunderstanding on the pitch — he sent me off. After that, I spoke with him calmly in the dressing room. I want to keep the conversation private and he will make a report. I didn’t disrespect him. ‘We will see if I am banned. It was a difficult decision (for the disallowed goal). They checked the position of Gylfi, it was offside but, in our opinion, it didn’t affect the vision of the goalkeeper. In their opinion, it did.’ Meanwhile, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer described De Gea as the ‘world’s best goalkeeper’ despite his howler for Everton’s opener. Roy Keane, who was watching in Sky’s studios, said he would have ‘killed’ the Spaniard had he made such an error for him.
Inexplicably, De Gea waited and waited in the third minute to clear a short pass from Harry Maguire, giving CalvertLewin the opportunity to close him down and score. De Gea later atoned with a late parry to thwart Sigurdsson but has made seven errors that have led directly to goals since the beginning of last season. Solskjaer, though, insisted: ‘He went through a difficult patch last season, definitely, but he has been very, very good this season. I trust David 100 per cent. ‘For me, David is the best goalkeeper in the world.’