Arne Slot argued it was “so obvious” that James Tarkowski should have been sent off for Everton in their defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.
The Reds moved 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over their Merseyside rivals, with Diogo Jota’s second-half strike enough for a narrow derby victory.
It could have been a much more comfortable night had Tarkowski seen red with barely ten minutes on the clock, after he flew into a challenge on Alexis Mac Allister.
Tarkowski took the ball but then went in shin high on the midfielder as he followed through, leaving the Liverpool man needing treatment on the pitch.
The referee showed Tarkowski a yellow card and VAR decided not to upgrade that to a red, a decision that Jamie Carragher described as “shocking”.
Asked for an update on Mac Allister, who still played the full 90 minutes,” Slot said: “He is [ok] because he kept on playing, so I assume he’s ok. And he’s used to something [like this] because he’s from South America.
“I think everybody has said something about it so why should I add something to it? It’s so obvious that it’s not necessary for me to comment.
“Everyone else did and I would prefer to talk about Diogo’s goal, or Curtis Jones’ performance, or something else than about the red card incident.”
Pressed on the fact it could have been a serious injury for Mac Allister, Slot added: “Could have been, but wasn’t fortunately. He was lucky about that.”
The television analysis at half-time and after the match was unanimous in arguing that Tarkowski should have been dismissed.
Gary Neville described the challenge on commentary as a “potential leg breaker”, while former referee Mike Dean said it “100%” should have been a red card.
“The referee should give it on the pitch,” Carragher said. “For Paul Tierney not to give it on VAR is shocking.”
