THE NOTEBOOK: Chris Kavanagh might want to avoid social media, Crystal Palace's one-off shirt has a good feel to it, and England assistant Steve Holland was on a Selhurst Park scouting mission

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Crystal Palace and Everton played out a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park that was most notable for a VAR call that went against the visitors late in the encounter. 

With neither side having been able to break the deadlock, Dominic Calvert-Lewin received his first straight red after a rash challenge on Nathaniel Clyne late in the game. 

A long VAR check ensued for Chris Kavanagh, and although replays showed minimal contact, the striker was given his marching orders after recklessly diving into the challenge. 

Elsewhere, England assistant manager Steve Holland was in the crowd, and could have been running his eye over Everton starlet Jarrad Branthwaite who has come on leaps and bounds this term.

Here, Mail Sport's Lewis Steele takes you through some of the stories you might have missed from Crystal Palace's drab 0-0 draw with Everton in the FA Cup Third Round. 

Dominic Calvert-Lewin was sent off late in the game after a rash challenge on Nathaniel Clyne

Everton's Dwight McNeil was stretchered off late in the game for an apparent ankle issue

Neither manager will be particularly pleased with the replay having been set for a long rest before their next games

Should we stop showing referees the slow-mos? 

Chris Kavanagh will be well served to avoid social media in the aftermath of this match, with most posts on X complaining about the downright awful decision to send off Dominic Calvert-Lewin for a tackle that was perhaps mistimed but in no way worthy of a red card.

‘I’ve lost the will to live, games gone,’ posted Everton legend Peter Reid - and that summed up the feeling of most football fans, including some Crystal Palace supporters who were bemused by the decision.

When the challenge went in on Nathaniel Clyne, admittedly with studs slightly showing as Calvert-Lewin dived in, it was telling that there was not a single Palace player appealing for a red card.

One thing that must be noted is that the replay that greeted the referee at the VAR monitor was a slow-motion scene, which makes every tackle look worse. Maybe one thing we can do to improve decisions is to stop showing officials slow-mo replays.

‘When you slow it down it’s obviously going to look worse, it was a great tackle,’ said captain Séamus Coleman after the match. 'I don’t know who the fingers need to be pointed at, when the referee goes over there you know it’s going to be a red card.’

It’s a strong contender with Tyler Morton’s sending off for Hull on New Year’s Day as the worst decision of the year so far. That one was rescinded and maybe Everton will have hope this one will be, too. Calvert-Lewin is now set to miss three matches with the ban.

Chris Kavanagh showed Dominic Calvert-Lewin a straight red after a lengthy VAR decision

The replays seemed to show very little contact from the English striker who will now miss three games

A feel-good fourth kit for Palace 

This was a battle between a home team wearing their fourth kit against an away side in their third-choice strip. But Crystal Palace’s choice of jersey has a good feel to it, with the Macron kit seeing all profits go to a charity.

The shirt, which has a red and white sash across a dominant royal blue, was a one-off and all profits made on sales go to Palace for Life Foundation, which works with the south London community and ‘uses the power of football and Palace to change the lives of young people’.

Palace for Life targets the most hard-to-reach and hard-to-help youngsters and works with over 15,000 people each year, inspiring them to find a better path and to lead a healthier life. Fans can bid on the kits worn by every player in the squad on Thursday.

Each home shirt worn on Thursday will be auctioned off to raise money for the Palace For Life Foundation

Coleman one away from the record 

Seamus Coleman has equalled a record that has stood for more than a century in becoming the second Evertonian to play in 14 FA Cup campaigns as an outfield player. He levels the record set by Jack Taylor between 1896 to 1910.

Taylor, born in Dumbarton, Scotland won the trophy in 1906 and also played in the final in 1897 and 1907. In the 1910 semi-final against Barnsley, though, the Scotsman was struck by the ball in the throat and damaged his larynx which effectively ended his professional career.

Coleman is ticking towards Taylor’s 456 appearances for the Toffees, with this his 412th. He put in a solid shift at right back as he steps up his recovery from an injury. 

If Coleman plays again in next season’s FA Cup, the skipper will level Neville Southall’s 15 cup campaigns for the club.

Seamus Coleman is now only one away from matching Neville Southall's FA Cup campaign record for Everton

All eyes on Branthwaite 

Steve Holland was in attendance at Selhurst Park and Gareth Southgate’s assistant will have been keeping a keen eye on young Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite, who has come on leaps and bounds since being given his chance in the first team by Sean Dyche.

Signed from Carlisle, the lanky centre half spent last season on loan at Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, where he earned rave reviews and grew in stature as a defender. He has arguably been Everton’s player of the season alongside Abdoulaye Doucoure this campaign.

With a spot at the heart of England’s defensive squad perhaps up for grabs in the European Championships, both Branthwaite and Palace’s Marc Guehi, who has been capped nine times, would have been looking to impress Southgate’s assistant.

Steve Holland (left) - Gareth Southgate's No 2 - was in attendance likely scouting JArrad Branthwaite

The lanky defender (right) has come on leaps and bounds since breaking into the first team under Sean Dyche

A very unpopular replay 

With both of these sides set for a decent rest after this match - Everton don’t play until next Sunday and Palace aren’t in action until January 20 - it was probably fair to suggest neither wanted the replay back at Goodison Park later this month.

The winter break will give both of these sides, who have a number of absentees, a chance to get their squads back to full health after a congested Christmas period. 

Replays are still a precious commodity and rich tradition but Premier League sides will not be a fan.