SUNDERLAND are still seething at the decision not to award them a second-half penalty in the 1-1 draw against Everton.
And they have written to the Premier League and PGMOL demanding answers.
The Black Cats could have climbed into second place in the table behind Arsenal had they won on Monday night but had to settle for a point thanks to Granit Xhaka’s equaliser.
But they were adamant referee Tom Bramwell should have pointed to the spot on 72 minutes when Noah Sadiki’s cross struck Michael Keane’s outstretched hand.
Bramwell, however, waved play on and VAR refused to overturn his decision.
Sunderland coaches spoke to the match official after the final whistle but were not satisfied with the explanation given.
That’s led to them taking the matter further and writing to the relevant bodies seeking clarification.
Sunderland are backed by former Fifa referee Keith Hackett who claimed Keane knew what he was doing and made no attempt to withdraw his right hand.
However, the Premier League released a statement via its Match Centre stating the defender’s arm position was adjudged to be “justifiable” and therefore no offence took place under current handball guidelines.
The full statement read: “The referee’s call of no penalty to Sunderland was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Keane’s arm deemed to be in a justifiable position.”
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Everton took the lead in the match via a brilliant individual effort from Iliman Ndiaye.
But the Black Cats battled back and snatched a leveller in the 46th minute through Xhaka.
The former Arsenal midfielder powered a shot goalwards, but it benefited from a deflection off James Tarkowski and past Jordan Pickford.
The point leaves Sunderland 4th in the Premier League table on an astonishing 18 points – just seven off leaders Arsenal.
The Toffees are six points behind Sunderland but all the way down in 14th place.
