Credit: Imago Images
Liverpool faced Everton in a fiery Merseyside derby on Wednesday night.
The reverse fixture saw a lot of goals and controversy and even led to a ban for Arne Slot. The Liverpool boss was sent off for his comments in response to Michael Oliver’s refereeing after full time. Both teams scored twice, and James Tarkowski scored a late winner in the last ever Merseyside derby at Goodison park.
Everton will play their next Merseyside derby in their new stadium. Speaking of stadiums, Anfield hosted a sell out crowd on Wednesday night. The game saw one of the largest crowds for a Merseyside derby in years. The newly expanded Anfield Road Stand saw close to 60,000 fans.
Quiz: Can you name the team Liverpool signed these players from?
Why Everton will not face ban for Liverpool game
The game on Wednesday night got off to a fiery start as James Tarkowski was booked for a serious looking foul on Alexis Mac Allister. The Argentine midfielder was closing down a loose ball only for Tarkowski to get to the ball first and clatter Mac Allister with a nasty follow through. Fans booed the decision to give the Everton defender just a yellow card.
“It’s a red card” 🟥
Mike Dean on James Tarkowski’s challenge on Alexis Mac Allister. pic.twitter.com/incboVJsRE
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 2, 2025
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean, who was on Sky Sports, said he was confused how the tackle was not a red card:
“Tarkowski’s played the ball… but when you see the still (image), the follow through is awful. I mean – he hasn’t got his foot planted luckily enough, but it’s a red card. There’s speed, intensity, force – the lot. He gets the ball, but the follow through – it’s a terrible challenge.”
Late in the second half, another incident involving Darwin Nunez and Jordan Pickford happened. After a foul on Dominik Szoboszlai, Nunez chased down a loose ball only to be clattered by Pickford. No card was shown to the Everton keeper and the free kick was taken where Szoboszlai was fouled.
FA guidelines mean no incident will be punished
In these two incidents, Everton will not face a retrospective ban according to FA Rules:
“If video evidence clearly shows that a player has committed a dismissal offence that was not seen at the time it occurred by the match officials, or reviewed in time by VAR, The FA may take retrospective disciplinary action.
“Retrospective action was originally introduced to address ‘off-the-ball’ incidents of violent conduct or serious foul play that were committed out of the match officials’ eye line and to put the player in the same position as if the incident had been seen at the time.”
Since referee Samuel Barrott and the VAR saw both incidents, no retrospective action can be taken.
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