Weir unhappy over Roberts elbow

Everton captain David Weir is refusing to exonerate Jason Roberts following the latest elbow incident involving the Wigan striker.

An explosive finale to a 1-1 draw at the JJB Stadium led to Roberts being sent off for catching Weir in the face with his left elbow.

That came seven minutes from time, and just three minutes after hot-head Everton striker Duncan Ferguson saw red for the eighth time in his Toffees career for punching Paul Scharner in the stomach.

Wigan manager Paul Jewell felt Roberts’ actions were “silly rather than malicious", but it was a moment that will see the 28-year-old serve a three-match ban.

But Roberts will not miss the Carling Cup final with Manchester United on February 26 as a Barclays Premiership game with Spurs has been rearranged for the previous weekend.

It means Roberts will complete his suspension against Martin Jol’s side, as well as missing games at Bolton this Saturday and at home to Liverpool the following weekend.

Weir, when asked whether he felt the incident with Roberts was accidental, replied: “I just got caught on the jaw. That’s all I know.

“I’ve not seen it on TV so I can’t comment whether it was accidental or not.

“But it doesn’t matter to me whether it was accidental, he has caught me and that’s the end of the story as far as I’m concerned.”

It is the second time in five weeks Roberts has been involved in an elbowing controversy as there was a similar situation during the 2-0 win at West Ham on December 28.

Roberts was booked for catching Hammers defender James Collins in the face with his elbow in one incident.

Shortly afterwards, Roberts caught Collins’ face again with his left elbow, leaving the Wales international with a cut lip, but no action was taken.

Referee Steve Bennett confirmed in his match report he saw what happened, which left the Football Association powerless to intervene.

Investigations can only be launched on the basis of video evidence if the match officials did not witness the incident at the time.

As for Ferguson, his dismissal blights what is expected to be his final season at Goodison Park as his contract expires this summer, and it is unlikely to be renewed.

Manager David Moyes was left fuming, insisting the Scot’s actions could not be defended and he had let the club down.

It would appear Ferguson offered no apology to his team-mates after the game as Weir revealed: “He hasn’t mentioned it.”

Fortunately for Everton and Moyes, Ferguson’s red card – equalling the Premiership record of former Arsenal star Patrick Vieira – did not prevent them from extending their unbeaten run to eight games.

That is the best Everton have achieved under Moyes, yet Weir feels it should have been a fifth successive win after controlling the first 45 minutes.

But after an own goal from Wigan midfielder David Thompson, the Latics replied on the stroke of half-time with a close-range volley from Scharner.

“It was disappointing to concede a goal that close to half-time,” added Weir.

“If we had held the lead at the break then I feel we would have gone on to take all three points.

“But Wigan is a difficult place to play. A lot of teams have come unstuck there.

“Maybe we deserved to come away with a little bit more, but we can’t be too disappointed because we’ve kept our unbeaten run going, and we will try to keep it going for as long as we can.”

Crucially for Everton, at the heart of their resilient second-half performance when they were coming under the cosh as Wigan pushed for a winner, were Weir and Alan Stubbs.

The duo were reunited again in the centre of defence following the latter’s recent return to Goodison Park, and Weir is delighted.

“I’ve had a few central defensive partners this season,” stated Weir.

“That’s the way it has been, but it was nice to have Stubbsy back.

“He looked like he had never been away. He was the best player on the pitch, there was no doubt about that.”