EVERTON captain James Tarkowski escaped a red card for a brutal tackle on Alexis Mac Allister just 10 minutes into the Merseyside derby.
The defender won the ball in a slide tackle before crashing into Liverpool’s Argentine midfielder.
Referee Sam Barrott immediately brandished a yellow card at Tarkowski.
The incident was subsequently looked at by VAR Paul Tierney.
But to the surprise of many, Tierney did NOT urge Barrott to go and take another look on the monitor.
In a statement posted on social media, the Premier League confirmed: “The referee’s call of yellow card for a reckless foul by Tarkowski was checked by the VAR, with contact on the follow through after Tarkowski had played the ball deemed to be reckless.”
After Mac Allister received treatment, Liverpool got the game going again – with Dominik Szoboszlai missing the resulting free-kick.
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean was watching the game for Sky Sports News.
Reviewing the incident, the 56-year-old said: “The follow through is awful. He hasn’t got his leg planted, luckily enough.
“But it’s a red card – speed, intensity, force – the lot. He gets the ball but the follow through… it’s a terrible challenge.
“For me he (Barrott) should have gone to the screen, should have sent Tarkowski off – 100 per cent.”
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