James Tarkowski’s gesture to Alexis Mac Allister speaks volumes after VAR red card incident

Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister was shown deep in conversation with James Tarkowski at the end of the Merseyside derby after he was on the receiving end of a poor tackle from the Everton defender

James Tarkowski was seen sharing a moment with Alexis Mac Allister at the end of the Merseyside derby following his X-rated tackle on the Liverpool star. The Everton defender was fortunate to escape a red card following the challenge, which was checked by VAR during the first half.

Tarkowski caught Mac Allister late and high, leaving the Argentine in agony. But referee Samuel Barrot – and VAR official Paul Tierney – did not believe the tackle met the threshold for serious foul play.

The Premier League confirmed Tarkowski was not sent off as he ‘played the ball’, saying in a social media post: “The referee’s call of yellow card for a reckless foul by Tarkowski was checked by the VAR, with contact on the follow through after Tarkowski had played the ball deemed to be reckless.”

While plenty of fans and pundits were left bewildered by the decision, there did, at least, seem to be no hard feelings between the pair after Liverpool’s 1-0 win.

READ MORE: Premier League offer explanation on VAR red card controversy in Liverpool vs EvertonREAD MORE: Jamie Carragher makes angry accusation in VAR verdict on Liverpool vs Everton red card drama

Tarkowski was seen shaking hands with Mac Allister before pulling the midfielder in for a word. Both seemed to be smiling and shook hands again before moving on, indicating there was no grudge.

Although Mac Allister seemed happy to let things be, Tarkowski was slammed by a number of pundits during the game. Former Premier League referee Mike Dean insisted the decision was completely wrong on Sky Sports News.

Dean said: “He should have gone to the screen and he should be off. It is a horrible challenge. It is a red card all day.”

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Jamie Carragher, also speaking on Sky Sports, went one further and also called out the officials. He said: “We’ll talk about VAR but the referee, Sam Barrot, 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 really up for debate. The referee should get it.”

The former Liverpool man was then asked by Kelly Cates if the referee may have thought it was a natural follow through from Tarkowski’s tackle, to which he replied: “No. It’s an awful tackle and we know Tarkowski knows what he’s doing there. He’s got previous as well, against Everton for Burnley, we covered it on Monday Night Football, but the referee should give it on the pitch.

“For Paul Tierney [then] not to give it on VAR is shocking.”

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