James Tarkowski’s wife Samantha said the “abuse” her family has received following the Merseyside derby is “beyond disgusting”. Liverpool claimed a 1-0 win over Everton in the Premier League clash at Anfield on Wednesday night, with Diogo Jota on the score sheet for the hosts.
It was in the first half that Tarkowski was issued a yellow card by referee Sam Barrott for a tackle on Mac Allister. The PGMOL admitted the Everton defender should have been sent off during Wednesday’s Merseyside derby after his tackle on Alexis Mac Allister. Tarkowski was given a yellow card by referee Sam Barrott following the challenge on the Liverpool midfielder.
VAR looked at the challenge and deemed that a yellow card was enough. Speaking in his press conference yesterday, Liverpool manager Arne Slot welcomed the PGMOL’s admission.
He said: “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. It is good they acknowledged the mistake, but it was so clear what I said yesterday that so many pundits who aren’t Liverpool fans were all clear about it too so it is good they acknowledged it but let’s move on to Sunday.”
Tarkowski addressed the incident following Everton’s defeat and said he apologised to Mac Allister following his poor challenge. Speaking to Optus Sport he said: “I spoke to him (Mac Allister) and I apologised because it’s not a great tackle.
“When the ball fell between us, I thought he was just going to come and I was expecting a big, old-school 50-50 tackle but he just pulled out the tackle and as I lunged in, I followed through and caught him pretty high so I’ve apologised to him and he’s accepted it. Yeah, not a great one from me.”
However, following the controversial decision, Tarkowski’s wife Samantha said on her Instagram story “the level of abuse” she and her husband have received is “beyond disgusting”. She said: “I wasn’t actually going to say anything because we usually just laugh it off but f*** it.
“The level of abuse my husband is receiving – wishing death on him, vile comments about me, about us as a couple, and about him as a person – is beyond disgusting. People forget that he is more than just a footballer.
“He is a husband, a son, a brother, a friend, and most importantly, the father of our two children. He goes out there and does his job and does it very f******* well, yet he’s subjected to so much hate.
“For those acting like he deliberately set out to hurt someone – [are you] serious? Football moves at speed, and tackles are split-second decisions. No player goes out there to injure someone and do you think any player would feel good about it if they did?
“But pure s*** messages, the threats? That’s intentional. That’s on you. Football is a sport, but the way some so-called ‘fans’ behave is disgraceful. The abuse, the threats – it’s not passion, it’s pathetic. We’re real people, and this goes far beyond football.”