James Tarkowski said sorry for 'leg-breaker' tackle on Liverpool star after avoiding red

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James Tarkowski apologised to Alexis Mac Allister after subjecting him to a brutal tackle that was deemed a potential "leg-breaker." The reckless challenge by the Everton defender occurred during the Toffees' trip to Anfield in April.

The away side were bested 1-0, courtesy of Diogo Jota's last-ever goal for Liverpool.

As is the case with derbies, the fixtures tend to get a bit spicy, but Tarkowski went too far as he caught the Argentine high on his ankle, leaving the World Cup winner writhing in pain.

While many expected a red card to be brandished to the Englishman, referee Sam Barrott instead showed him a yellow.

VAR Paul Tierney then failed to recommend an on-field review to his colleague.

With Tarkowski managing to play out the rest of the game, it was only moments after the full-time whistle blew that he made his way over to Mac Allister to say sorry for his tackle.

The Liverpool midfielder seemed to have accepted his apologies, but that didn't stop the likes of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher voicing their shock post-match that the centre-back wasn't given his marching orders.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville said: "That’s a potential leg-breaker.

There will be those that say it’s a natural follow-through.

"If you’re a defender, Carragher will be able to tell you even better than me, you don’t need to follow through like that.

He’s very lucky."

Carragher echoed Neville's thoughts as he added: "The ref should give it on the pitch, [but] for Paul Tierney to not give it on VAR is shocking." Given the outrage of the decision, an explanation from the Premier League Match Centre was posted after the game.

It read: "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.

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Arne Slot also had his say on the incident and while he didn't directly publicise his displeasure with the refereeing decision, he did say: "So many people gave their opinion and a lot of people who are not in favour of Liverpool were so clear about it."

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It was only four games after their win against Everton that Liverpool captured the Premier League title in the Dutchman's debut campaign at the club.

The Reds sealed the title in style with a 5-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield to claim only their second league title in the Premier League era, following on from Jurgen Klopp's triumph in the 2019/20 season.

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