Wayne Rooney stands alone in Ainsley Maitland-Niles verdict after Everton draw vs Hull

Wayne Rooney has offered a counter-narrative to the heavy criticism aimed at Ainsley Maitland-Niles following Everton’s chaotic 2-2 draw against Hull City at the MKM Stadium.
​David Moyes’ side extended their unbeaten Premier League run, but a thrilling encounter on Sunday felt like two points dropped after defensive lapses let the Tigers back into the game. Joe Gelhardt opened the scoring early in the second half for the hosts before Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall leveled things up with a header. Thierno Barry then atoned for earlier misses to put the Blues ahead, only for Mohamed Belloumi to equalize late on.

​While much of the post-match discourse focused on Maitland-Niles struggling defensively—particularly against Hull winger Elliot Stroud in the build-up to the equalizer—Rooney chose to highlight the positives from the full-back’s display on BBC’s Match of the Day.
​Rooney praised the 29-year-old’s attacking contribution for the equalizer, pointing to his intelligent delivery: “This is a fantastic pass, really clever pass and then Dewsbury-Hall with a good finish. Now they’re confident; they’s got that belief they can win the game. Maitland-Niles putting the pressure on, Armstrong putting the pressure on and winning the ball back.”
​In contrast, former Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld was far more scathing of the right-back’s late-game positioning and game management, remarking: “You come 2-1 up with 10 minutes to play and you concede a goal like this. You cannot defend naive like Maitland-Niles is doing here; this ball needs to go into the stands.” Alderweireld also pointed the finger at Jarrad Branthwaite and Jordan Pickford for compounding errors in the sequence.
​The VAR Controversy: Roy Keane Slams Disallowed Goal

​Adding fuel to the fire, the match was heavily overshadowed by a contentious VAR intervention that left supporters and pundits furious. Everton had a crucial goal chalked off by the video assistant referee in a decision that many deemed baffling.
​Weighing in on the incident, Roy Keane didn’t hold back in his assessment of the officiating technology, launching a scathing critique of the decision-making process.

​Keane slammed the call on punditry duty, arguing that VAR continues to ruin the fabric of the game with hyper-technical, incorrect interpretations. “It’s an absolute disgrace of a decision,” Keane reportedly fired. “Every week we are sitting here talking about incompetent interventions. Common sense has completely left the game. That is a perfectly good goal, and for VAR to step in and find a microscopic excuse to rule it out is ruining the spectacle. Referees and officials are hiding behind technology and getting absolute sitters completely wrong.”