Brighton and Hove, England, 14th December 2023. Joey Barton is seen watching from the stands with the Marseille fans during the UEFA Europa League match at the AMEX Stadium, Brighton and Hove. Picture credit should read: Paul Terry / Sportimage EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or live services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. SPI-2802-0065
Liverpool were frustrated by one incident in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday night.
The match was hard fought, and Liverpool were able to secure all three points at home. It was a record crowd at Anfield. The reds maintain their lead on top of the Premier League. Both sides brought fight, and intensity during the derby, and the atmosphere was just what Liverpool needed.
Arne Slot acknowledged the importance of the win on Wednesday:
”Hard-fought, definitely, but that was no surprise. Everton were nine games in a row unbeaten, hardly ever concede a goal, hardly ever concede a chance, defend with 10 players apart from Beto in and around their 18-yard box.”
Quiz: Can you name these 10 former Premier League players?
Joey Barton criticizes fans incident in Liverpool game
Liverpool took all three points as they continued their march to win the Premier League. However, the talking points from the game were about the refereeing. Specifically how referee Samuel Barrott handled two incidents during the game. The first one was early in the first half when James Tarkowski launched himself into a tackle that cleared out Alexis Mac Allister. On first glance, the defender won the ball and the follow through looked minimal. But after multiple replays, the challenge was clearly dangerous. Barrott only gave a yellow card, which VAR agreed with. Luckily, Mac Allister did not suffer any major injury.
The other incident was late in the second half. Darwin Nunez was chasing down a long ball in the Everton half. He got the better of the defender, before entering the box and getting clattered by Jordan Pickford. The referee indicated that nothing could be given after he whistled for a foul just after the long ball was played. Nunez was given a yellow card for time wasting.
On Thursday morning, Joey Barton came out and gave his opinion on the incident. According to Barton, Tarkowski’s challenge was ”not even a foul” and even called it a ”great tackle”. It did not go down well with fans who made their opinions known in the comments under the post.
“It’s not even a foul!” @Joey7Barton on Tarkowski’s tackle pic.twitter.com/ZZNtvJwkWP
— Common Sense with Joey Barton (@Common_SensePod) April 3, 2025
PGMOL also came out this morning to acknowledge that the referee made an error, and that the incident should have been a red card.
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