Premier League refereeing chiefs have admitted that James Tarkowski should have been shown a red card for his tackle on Alexis Mac Allister during Everton’s defeat to Liverpool.
Tarkowski made contact high on the leg of the Liverpool midfielder in his follow through after lunging to take the ball in a flying challenge, but was shown only a yellow card by referee Sam Barrott.
The incident was not subsequently reviewed formally by the video assistant referee (VAR), with the conclusion that there had been no clear and obvious error made by Barott.
However, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) is now understood to have privately conceded that the challenge met the threshold for serious foul play and the Everton defender should have been sent off.
Everton manager David Moyes admitted after the 1-0 loss that Tarkowski had been “lucky” to avoid dismissal for the first-half tackle, while former Premier League referee Mike Dean said he was “astounded” by the decision.
“I don’t want to comment about the situation because so many people already commented on that,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot said after the game.
“Even people who don’t like Liverpool a lot were so clear and obvious about what the decision should have been. Was I surprised? No.”
The Liverpool manager added on Sky Sports: "It's so obvious, it's not necessary for me to comment. I'd prefer to talk about Diogo [Jota]'s goal or Curtis Jones' performance, or something else than the red card incident.
"It could have been [a serious injury] but it wasn't fortunately, and he was lucky about that."
Liverpool’s 1-0 win ensured they maintained a 12-point advantage over Arsenal as they close in on the title.
