Everton chiefs were unhappy with the timing of Saturday's victory over Manchester United.
The Daily Mail says officials were fuming at having been forced to play against Manchester United on the same day as the Grand National.
Police ask the league's fixture planners to ensure that if either of the Merseyside teams are at home on National weekend they have a 'low-key fixture', held on Sunday. 'We got United on Saturday,' bemoaned one insider.
That meant that the relegation-fighting Toffees had to make enough security staff available for the game to go ahead.
Meanwhile, some at Goodison have wondered whether their stance on providing tickets for the families of match officials is going against them.
Most top-flight sides allow relatives of refs and assistants access to a lounge, but that is impossible thanks to space restrictions at Everton's compact home and general admission tickets are instead provided.
To add fuel to the conspiracy flames, ahead of the recent clash with Newcastle, which Everton won 1-0 but had midfielder Allan sent off, match officials were told they had to leave the ground and head to the car park as they had not picked up the relevant passes.
Sources said the group were far from amused, and wondered if it may have had a subconscious impact on their decision-making.
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