The referees’ body, Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL), has acknowledged that Everton’s James Tarkowski should have been sent off early on in their defeat at Liverpool on Wednesday. The defender was only cautioned for a reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister, described as a “Merseyside derby tackle of old”.
The referee, Sam Barrott, gave Tarkowski a yellow card and David Moyes conceded the defender was fortunate to stay on the pitch. PGMOL believes the video assistant referee, Paul Tierney, should have recommended a review.
There was a VAR check – which lasted only 10 seconds according to the Premier League match centre – but Tierney decided no further action was necessary because he felt the referee’s call was not a clear and obvious error.
PGMOL notes that Tarkowski initially played the ball but deems that his follow-through on Mac Allister met the threshold for serious foul play, and therefore was worthy of a red card.
The former England goalkeeper Joe Hart, who played with Tarkowski at Burnley, said on Match of the Day of his former teammate: “He is a super-aggressive player and he put his body on the line all night for his team but I can’t defend him. This is a Merseyside derby tackle of old but it is reckless. It could have ended so badly. Mac Allister is lucky to be standing up.”
Moyes, the Everton manager, said: “We could have been lucky we didn’t get a red. It looked a high one.”
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Tierney is scheduled to be the VAR for the Manchester derby on Sunday, while Barrott is due to be the fourth official at Ipswich’s home game with Wolves on Saturday and Southampton’s trip to Tottenham on Sunday.
