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James Tarkowski went straight up to Alexis Mac Allister and appeared to apologise to the Liverpool midfielder after Everton's 1-0 Merseyside derby defeat on Wednesday night.

The 32-year-old defender was fortunate to escape a red card after a crunching tackle on Mac Allister during the first half at Anfield, for which he earned a booking.

Tarkowski went flying into the challenge and looked to follow through on the Argentine, leaving him in visible pain on the floor.



Referee Samuel Barrot decided a yellow card was a suitable punishment for the reckless action, and VAR Paul Tierney agreed that it didn't meet the threshold for serious foul play.

The Premier League's Match Centre account on X later posted an explanation, claiming Tarkowski was adjudged to have "played the ball".

The post read: "The referee's call of a 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."

Tarkowski showed his class after the final whistle signalled the end of the battle on Merseyside, making a bee-line for Mac Allister.

The England international looked apologetic as he placed his hand on his rivals' head on the pitch before going to applaud the Everton supporters.

While the officials didn't consider his tackle a red card offence, thousands of viewers disagreed, including former Premier League referee Mike Dean.

While working on Sky Sports' Soccer Special, Dean said: "He should have gone to the screen and he should be off.

It is a red card all day."

Gary Neville, alongside Peter Drury on commentary for Sky Sports, was equally as baffled by Tarkowski's fortune.

"It is a horrible tackle.

He did not need to follow through like that," the pundit explained during the review.

Meanwhile, ex-Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock also blasted Tarkowski's follow-through, describing it as "out of control".

On BBC Radio 5 Live, Warnock reacted: "This challenge is nasty from James Tarkowski.
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