Howard Webb has claimed that VAR made a mistake in not sending off an Everton star in the Merseyside derby earlier this month.
After a feisty 2-2 draw in February – in which both sides were reduced to 10 men – Liverpool hosted their arch-rivals and secured a 1-0 win that put them further out of reach in the title race.
However the result was overshadowed by two controversial decisions by the officials; the sole goal of the game, and an early challenge on Liverpool star Alexis Mac Allister.
While PGMOL chief Webb believes the former was the correct decision despite a potential offside in the build-up, he admitted the latter was an erroneous call from the officials.
With just 11 minutes played at Anfield, James Tarkowski came flying out to intercept Mac Allister, and while he got all the ball and cleared the danger, his follow-through say his boot crunch into the Argentina midfielder’s leg.
The challenge was met with a yellow card and nothing more, with the VAR ruling that the referee’s decision was the correct one, but Webb saw things differently.
James Tarkowski was shown a yellow for a challenge on Alexis Mac Allister early in the game
His follow-through saw him clatter into Mac Allister’s planted calf though he did get the ball
PGMOL chief Howard Webb has admitted VAR made an error in not sending Tarkwoski off
‘It’s a red card challenge, it’s an error on the part of the match officials not to send James Tarkowski off,’ said Webb on Match Officials Mic’d Up.
‘The referee recognises on the field that Tarkowski plays the ball and the way he does so is reckless. The VAR then checks that on-field decision of a yellow card – and puts too much focus on the fact that Tarkowski plays the ball.
‘You hear him talking about where else his foot can go – but Tarkowski makes the choice to play the ball in that way.
‘When are you clearing or playing the ball close to an opponent, you have to think about the opponent and the way you’re going to go into that challenge, thinking about the safety of the opponent.
‘He lunges towards Mac Allister in the way that he does and you see the contact – it’s excessive force and it endangers the safety of the opponent and it should be a red-card offence.’
On the programme, the audio of the decision-making process can be heard, with on-field referee pointing to the fact that Tarkowski’s ‘foot has to go somewhere’ in his justification for booking the defender.
The VAR then notes Tarkowski got ‘all the ball’ and that there was ‘no secondary movement’ of the defender’s foot towards the leg of Mac Allister, with their assistant backing up this thought process.
Host and former Reds star Michael Owen asked Webb whether the context of the game – it being a Merseyside derby, one of the biggest rivalries in football – may have swayed the referee’s decision.
Tarkowski was booked by on-field referee Sam Barrott with VAR agreeing with his decision
There had been question marks around Diogo Jota’s winner but Webb believed the goal was a correct call
‘The game has asked us to protect players’ safety,’ Webb replied. ‘That’s our most important thing as a match official.
‘We will never try to read a player’s mind, we will only work on the physical evidence that is presented to us on the way a player plays.
‘We see the defender coming in, clearing the ball but following through with real high levels of force. There is contact happening with a player that is in front of him, it’s not a player stepping in front of him from a position he wasn’t in previously.
‘It was not the right outcome. We take the learning as a group, analyse these situations on a regular basis to try and reduce the occasions we fall short.’
Despite his side falling on the wrong side of this particular decision, Liverpool boss Arne Slot remained philosophical about the nature of the game, and the reality that mistakes would never truly be erased.
‘I think it’s always good that if they think they made a mistake they acknowledge that. And we all know that mistakes are made in football matches – by us, by me, players, referees,’ Slot said.
‘Everywhere around the world, mistakes are being made, it was in the league I come from too (in Holland). We are all aiming for a league with no mistakes and I am aiming for a season without me making one mistake with the lineups I make.
‘But unfortunately this will probably never happen. Not with me and not with referee decisions.
Barrott argued that the player’s foot had nowhere else to go after making the challenge
Arne Slot remained philosophical about the decision and the nature of refereeing mistakes
‘Mistakes are being made. I follow the Dutch league in Holland and there is so much criticism of referees in Holland, so I think it is in this world. If there is a possibility of being negative, eight out of 10 people will be negative.
‘Mistakes are being made, but the most important thing is it doesn’t influence the league table and the only answer to that is when we see it at the end and we say, “Did it influence it, yes or no?”. Mistakes are a part of our lives and from referees.’
After the game, PGMOL reached out to Liverpool and acknowledged their error. While they did not issue an on-the-record statement, it is understood the PGMOL believes the nature of the follow-through in the challenge met the threshold for serious foul play.
The opinion of the PGMOL is that a VAR review, led by Paul Tierney, should have been recommended and ultimately the original decision overturned.
It comes as part of PGMOL’s mission to be more open and transparent, which Slot and Liverpool received warmly.
Mac Allister, who was on the receiving end of the tackle, played through the rest of the match, playing the full 90 minutes against Fulham four days later, too.
