The Merseyside derby often comes with a parental warning but, as James Tarkowski avoided what looked a nailed-on red card, Liverpool boss Arne Slot was left incensed with a decision which arguably overshadowed April’s Anfield triumph.
Diogo Jota scored the only goal of the game as Liverpool exacted revenge from Everton’s 98th minute equaliser two months previously.
Yet, it was the man who earned The Toffees that most dramatic of points who dominated much of the post-match discussion once again.
James Tarkowski left Arne Slot ‘fuming’ as he lunged in on Alexis Mac Allister with just ten minutes on the clock. The sort of tackle which had the more old-school supporters longing for a return of the ‘good old days’, yet also an overly-aggressive, extremely reckless, knee-high challenge which often results in a broken leg and a prematurely-ended season.
Video assistant referee Paul Tierney, at the time, agreed with on-field official Sam Barrott.
Both felt that, because Tarkowski had initially cleared the ball from danger, the Everton defender simply could not avoid clattering into Mac Allister at full speed.
Yet when even the player in question is admitting that he might have got away with one – as an honest and apologetic Tarkowski did at full-time – that is when you know Liverpool were right to feel hard done by.
Everton’s James Tarkowski should have been sent off against Liverpool
Speaking to Sky Sports, Howard Webb – the boss of the PGMOL – admits that the decision to hand Tarkowski a yellow was, in hindsight, a pretty blatant error. Fortunately, Mac Allister would come through unscathed and Liverpool would end the night three points closer to Premier League glory.
“It’s a red card challenge. It’s an error on the part of the match officials not to send James Tarkowski off,” Webb admits.
“The referee recognises on the field that Tarkowski plays the ball and the way he does so is reckless. The VAR then checks that on-field decision of a yellow card, and puts too much focus on the fact that Tarkowski plays the ball.
“You hear him talking about where else his foot can go. But Tarkowski makes the choice to play the ball in that way.
“When are you clearing or playing the ball close to an opponent, you have to think about the opponent and the way you’re going to go into that challenge, thinking about the safety of the opponent.
“He lunges towards Mac Allister in the way that he does and you see the contact. It’s excessive force and it endangers the safety of the opponent and it should be a red-card offence.”
Howard Webb explains why Alexis Mac Allister call was wrong
Webb, who spent eleven years as a Premier League referee until his retirement in 2014, insists that the safety of players must take priority above all else. Meaning tackles like Tarkowski’s – while technically successful in winning the ball – must be cracked down upon.
“The game has asked us to protect players’ safety. That’s our most important thing as a match official.,” adds Webb, who spent eleven years as a Premier League referee until his retirement in 2014.
“We see the defender coming in, clearing the ball but following through with real high levels of force. There is contact happening with a player that is in front of him, it’s not a player stepping in front of him from a position he wasn’t in previously.
“It was not the right outcome.”
Arne Slot was, somewhat surprisingly, happy enough to focus instead on the importance of a Liverpool win and the timing of Diogo Jota’s second-half winner on the night.
Though, of course, his post-match press conference would have taken on a very different sort of atmosphere had Beto netted the decisive goal at the other end of the park, hitting the post instead.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
