James Tarkowski was wrongly spared a red card for a dangerous foul on Alexis Mac Allister – leaving Arne Slot on the brink of another Merseyside derby blow-up.
Tarkowski launched in high and studs up on the Liverpool midfielder just outside the penalty area, sparking a sharp intake of breath from Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.
“That’s a potential leg breaker,” the former Manchester United full-back added. Former top-tier referees Mike Dean and Keith Hackett joined Neville in expressing dismay at the failure by the video assistant referee to upgrade a yellow card shown to the Everton defender.
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Gary Neville believes James Tarkowski was 'very lucky' to escape red for this challenge on Alexis Mac Allister ???? pic.twitter.com/Di28mHouq2
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 2, 2025
Slot, who had been sanctioned after confrontations that followed Tarkowski’s equaliser at Goodison seven weeks earlier, was left prowling the touchline shaking his head.
“He did not need to follow through like that,” Neville said on Sky, adding Tarkowski had been “lucky” to avoid being sent off. “It’s such force and it’s high. If you’re a defender, you could put your foot on the ground as soon as you kick the ball if you want to,” Neville explained.
“The only reason you leave studs in the air is to make contact with someone’s shin. I think he’s very lucky there Tarkowski...I think it’s a bad one. That’s a potential leg breaker.”
Mac Allister escaped injury but there was open dismay among Liverpool players at referee Sam Barrott taking charge of his 19th Premier League game this season but his first ever Merseyside derby at Anfield. Dean, appearing on a Sky Sports panel, confirmed the red card should have been reviewed and a red card issued.
James Tarkowski was the hero in the last Merseyside derby with his last minute equaliser for Everton but there was no way he should have been allowed to continue at Anfield.
It’s a no-brainer: a clear red card challenge and the referee should have been pointing towards the tunnel. It was a clear and obvious error and referee Samuel Barrott should have been sent to the monitor. The VAR failed in its duty.
The lunge, where Tarkowski initially won the ball but then followed through and caught Alexis Mac Allister high up his leg, would come under the banner of serious foul play. It was a tackle that endangers the safety of an opponent, or uses excessive force or brutality, and must be sanctioned as serious foul play.
