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Liverpool edged closer to Premier League glory with a narrow victory over Everton in a Merseyside derby overshadowed by contentious refereeing decisions, most notably James Tarkowski’s dangerous first-half challenge that divided football’s rule interpreters.
In the 11th minute, Tarkowski launched a sliding tackle that saw his studs connect with Alexis Mac Allister’s lower leg above the ankle. Despite VAR reviewing the incident, referee Samuel Barrott’s initial yellow card stood.
PGMOL have since privately admitted that it should have been a red card, with Sky Sports reporting:
“PGMOL acknowledge that Everton defender James Tarkowski should have been issued with a red card in their fixture with Liverpool.”
“The challenge saw Tarkowski clearly play the ball initially, however, the nature of the follow-through met the threshold for serious foul play.”
“The referee felt the challenge was reckless in real time and the VAR then checked that on-field decision of a yellow card, deeming that the referee’s call was not a clear and obvious error.”
“However, the view of PGMOL is that a review should have been recommended and ultimately the original decision overturned.”
And while Tarkowski managed to stay on the pitch, he admitted after the game that he apolgized to Mac Allister and admitted his wrong doing.
“Yeah, I spoke to him and apologized because it’s not a great tackle,” Tarkowski said to Optus Sport last night.
“When the ball fell between us, I actually thought he was just going to come and I was expecting a big old school 50/50 tackle.”
“He just pulled out of the tackle, and as I lunged in, I caught him pretty high, so I’ve apologized to him and he’s accepted it, so yeah, not a great one from me.”
It was not the only contentious moment of the game that was deemed contentious.
Everton argued Luis Diaz’s positioning in an offside position during the buildup to Diogo Jota’s goal influenced defensive decision-making.
While officials correctly applied FIFA’s “deliberate play” interpretation, Toffees defender Jarrad Branthwaite maintained Diaz’s presence created “phantom pressure” affecting their defensive shape.
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