The fallout of Arne Slot and Michael Oliver’s exchange after the Merseyside derby has now been made public.
Liverpool were held to a draw at Goodison Park in what was the last ever Merseyside derby in the stadium. Everton took a shock lead in the game when Beto pounced on a quick free kick to slot past Alisson. Alexis Mac Allister equalized five minutes later. The scores were level when both teams went into the half time break.
Later on in the second half, Mohamed Salah scored what he thought was the winner. However, in added time, James Tarkowski scored a stunning volley to tie the game. Liverpool were furious with the goal as they felt Ibrahima Konate had been fouled in the build up.
At the end of the game, Arne Slot made his opinions felt as he approached Michael Oliver after the final whistle.
Quiz: Can you name the team Liverpool signed these players from?
FA reveal details of Arne Slot outburst
Credit: Imago Images
It was implied Slot said some harsh words, and Oliver responded by sending him off. The interaction was part of a longer sequence when both sides had a player sent off. Curtis Jones and Abdoulaye Doucoure were given their marching orders after a scuffle after full time.
Arne Slot was given a two-match touchline ban and £70,000 fine after the match. The FA have now published details of the incident, revealing what was allegedly said between Slot and Oliver:
Oliver alleged Slot, while shaking the official’s hand, said: “If we don’t win the league, I’ll [expletive] blame you.”
Slot disputed the alleged language used, claiming he instead said “if we don’t win the league, I will have you to thank for that”.
But the commission decided it was “more likely than not that Arne Slot used the language alleged by the referee and the FA”.
The FA also alleged the Reds boss said Oliver “[expletive] give them everything”, and hoped the referee “was proud of that performance”.
Arne Slot will be in the stands when Liverpool face Southampton next weekend.
Could Liverpool boss face further sanctions?
For now, Arne Slot has to complete his match ban, and pay the fine for the incident. As it stands, no further action will be taken on him yet. But as mentioned by the FA, the only reason he was not handed a lengthy ban was because of his good behaviour. In the future, any incidents with referees and match officials could lead to longer bans down the line as they will use the Everton game as a reference point.
The Liverpool boss must now tread carefully in his dealing with the referees and officials on the touchline. In other news, the reds have contacted Newcastle striker Alexander Isak over a possible summer move.
