Topics: Alexis Mac Allister, Everton, Football, Liverpool, PGMOL, Premier League, VAR
The Professional Game Match Officials Board have officially responded to James Tarkowski's controversial tackle during Liverpool's 1-0 win in the Merseyside derby at Anfield.
On Wednesday night, Liverpool took another step towards winning the 2024/25 Premier League title with a win over local rivals Everton at Anfield.
A goal from Diogo Jota settled the close fought match between the bitter rivals, with the most controversial moment of the game coming much earlier in the game as Everton defender Tarkowski committed a horror tackle on Alexis Mac Allister.
Although the Englishman was shown a yellow card, many believe he was lucky not to be sent off, and the official response from the PGMOL appears to agree with this view.
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In the 11th minute of what was already a tense match, a blocked shot from Jota left the ball at Mac Allister's feet at the edge of the box until a brutal, and late, challenge from Tarkowski saw the Argentine collapse in pain.
Despite the fact that the Everton star clearly followed through on Mac Allister after clearing the ball, referee Sam Barrott and VAR official Paul Tierney decided only to issue a yellow card, much to the disagreement of fans.
And now, the PGMOL have spoken out to react to the controversial moment, revealing that Tarkowski was lucky to stay on the pitch and should have been shown a red card for the tackle.
Posting on X, Sky Sports chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol wrote: "PGMOL acknowledge that Everton defender James Tarkowski should have been issued with a red card in their fixture with Liverpool.
"The challenge saw Tarkowski clearly play the ball initially, however, the nature of the follow-through met the threshold for serious foul play
"The referee felt the challenge was reckless in real time and the VAR then checked that on-field decision of a yellow card, deeming that the referee’s call was not a clear and obvious error
"However, the view of PGMOL is that a review should have been recommended and ultimately the original decision overturned."
Journalists Henry Winter, Paul Joyce and Lewis Steele all echoed this statement, confirming that the governing body feel that Tarkowski should have seen red for serious foul play.
