The PGMOL have privately owned up their their mistake in failing to send James Tarkowski off following his reckless lunge on Alexis Mac Allister, and Liverpool boss Arne Slot has provided an immediate response.
It didn’t take long for the Merseyside derby to boil over on Wednesday night, with Tarkowski’s dangerous tackle on Mac Allister serving as the game’s first flashpoint.
The Everton centre-back did win the ball, though caught the Liverpool midfielder high on his left leg with his forceful follow-through.
Refree Sam Barrott produced a yellow card and the incident was reviewed by VAR Paul Tierney. But to the surprise of many, Tierney did not instruct Barrott to review the tackle on the pitch-side monitor, instead deeming a yellow card to be worthy punishment.
Pundits from across the spectrum all agreed the tackle deserved a straight red card, with Manchester United legend, Gary Neville, calling for Tarkowski’s dismissal while commentating for Sky Sports.
Covering the incident at half-time, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher and Everton icon Duncan Ferguson both declared a red card should have been shown.
Yet the referees on the night believed otherwise, a collective decision the PGMOL has now privately admitted was a mistake.
The BBC’s chief football correspondent, Simon Stone, reported: ‘The PGMOL has privately confirmed James Tarkowski should have been sent off during Everton’s defeat at Liverpool last night.
‘Tarkowski was shown a yellow card for a reckless tackle on Alexis Mac Allister by on field referee Sam Barrott during the game and this was confirmed after a VAR review that only lasted 10 seconds.
‘The decision was widely condemned by a number of pundits and Everton manager David Moyes admitted Tarkowksi was fortunate to stay on the field.
‘However, PGMOL sources now accept the challenge reached the threshold for serious foul play and VAR Paul Tierney should have upgraded the punishment to a red card.’
Liverpool manager Slot spoke during a pre-planned press conference on Thursday morning and the subject of Tarkowski’s tackle and PGMOL’s response to their referees’ errors was understandably first on the agenda.
Slot chose to take the high road when asked for his view, though the tone of his response may well have been different had Liverpool not gone on to take all three points.
The Dutchman said: “I think it’s always good if they think they made a mistake they acknowledge that and we know mistakes are made by us, players, referees.
“So many pundits who aren’t Liverpool fans were all clear about it too so it is good they [said that].”
Arne Slot on state of refereeing
Slot was later asked about the state of refereeing in general.
“I thnk everywhere around the world, mistakes are being made, it was in the league I come from too,” added the Reds manager.
“We are aiming for no mistakes but unfortunately this will probably never happen. Not with me or referee decisions.
“Sometimes we have to accept it and it is very hard. Moyes was not happy after the game but he was smarter than me and went inside [compared to Goodison derby].
“So much criticism of referees in Holland, so I think it is in this world. If there is a possibility to be negative, 8/10 people will be negative.
“So I think it’s an OK season for England’s refs actually. Most important thing is it doesn’t influence the league table, so we see it at the end and we say did it influence it yes or no?”
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