James Tarkowski thundered into Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister early in Tuesday’s Merseyside derby but the Everton defender avoided a red card, despite a VAR check
Gary Neville believes that Everton defender James Tarkowski ‘knew what he was doing’ when he made his controversial tackle on Alexis Mac Allister in the Merseyside derby. Tarkowski, 32, ended up on the losing side as Everton suffered a 1-0 defeat, but in the 11th minute he went thundering in on the Liverpool midfielder.
The centre-back and hero of February’s derby initially won the ball and hit Mac Allister’s leg with force, but he only was shown a yellow card by referee Samuel Barrott. Replays suggested that VAR would intervene but the officials at Stockley Park didn’t recommended an on-field review, as Barrott signalled for the game to continue.
Watching replays of the incident, Sky Sports commentator Neville claimed: “Most would say he’s got the ball, but he knew exactly what he was doing, Tarkowski. Mac Allister was there, [Tarkowski was] doing an old-fashioned follow-through – take the lot.
“Yeah, I think he’s lucky because he’s gone high. If you’re a defender you can put your foot on the floor if you want to, if you want to leave your studs in the air and catch someone’s knee or shin, I think he’s very lucky. I think it’s a bad one, that’s a potential leg breaker.”
After the VAR check was complete, Neville added: “I think he’s very lucky there, Tarkowski. There will be some saying it’s a natural follow-through, trust me, you do not need to follow through like that with such force, it’s high, he’s very lucky.
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“I wouldn’t have complained at all if that was a red. We all used to do it, classic get away-with-it, kick the ball away and follow through rather than putting it back on the ground.”
At half-time, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher and Everton icon Duncan Ferguson gave their views on Tarkowski’s challenge. “There is no argument. It’s a straight red, we noticed it right away,” Ferguson admitted. “How they’ve not given the decision. It’s a straight red, he knows what he’s doing.
“Back in our day, you may have got away with it, cause you’ve got the ball. But he knows what he’s doing, he’s gone right through him and that could have been a leg-breaker. That’s a straight red all day long.”
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Carragher added: “We’ll talk about VAR but in terms of the referee, Sam Barrott, he’s in a brilliant position – he should give that on the pitch. He has to see that – has to! It’s a shocking tackle, we know it should be a red card, it’s not even up for debate.
“It’s an awful tackle and we know Tarkowski knows what he’s doing there. The referee should give it on the pitch. For Paul Tierney not to give it on VAR is shocking.”
Tarkowski may’ve been allowed to continue but he was unable to prevent Everton from suffering a 1-0 defeat. Diogo Jota scored in the second half to hand the Toffees their second loss in 11 Premier League games since David Moyes returned as manager.
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