Dermot Gallagher, who has often been ridiculed for his staunch and unwavering defence of referees, has made a bold claim following Saturday’s Merseyside derby, in which Everton were left feel severely cheated by the officials.
With the major talking point being Ibrahima Konate’s second yellow card that never came, it is unsurprising that it has dominated the media, although without quite the furore that Liverpool’s recent VAR disaster against Tottenham Hotspur provoked.
However, Sean Dyche can feel equally as cheated, given what was at stake as he took his side to Anfield with a clear game plan.
Having limited the hosts to minimal opportunities, Jurgen Klopp cut a frustrated figure on the sideline as his side tried and failed to break down the ten-men Toffees.
And yet, it was Craig Pawson’s decision to allow Konate’s second bookable offence to go unpunished that arguably turned the tide, with the match-winning penalty conceded just minutes later.
Gallagher, who was a referee in the English top flight for 15 years, was one of many to kick up a fuss, speaking to Sky Sports (via Football Daily).
‘Very, very,’ he would begin when asked if Konate was a ‘lucky boy’ to have remained on the field. ‘There’s a few things isn’t there. So cynical, he doesn’t make any attempt to play the ball, the argument, maybe Craig’s argument, is that he’s not going to get the ball, but Konate knew what he was doing.
‘I think what summed it up was a minute later the bench have said to Gomez ‘get ready to go on,’ and they’ve subbed him and that tells you the story.’
How did Everton play vs Liverpool?
Although they had hardly dominated up until that 65th-minute flashpoint, a win was far from what Dyche had set out to achieve.
Forcing the hosts to unload 13 shots from outside the area, with Jordan Pickford only troubled with four saves, paints the picture of a routine afternoon for the travelling Toffees, with James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite and Vitaliy Mykolenko having starred at the back.
Their combined defensive efforts were largely faultless, with the latter even keeping Mohamed Salah silent until his penalty and late finish consigned them to defeat.
The Egyptian managed just 42 touches all game, with his goalkeeper Alisson even recording more (44).
Dyche would speak of his pride following his side’s performance, telling TNT Sports: ‘Beyond that, I’ve got a group of players who’ve given everything. It’s very difficult to have 10 men in any game, especially in this game. I think we did well, especially in the second half, to quell the game, calm the game. Take the energy out of it, take the sting out of it’.
It seems that everyone who reviews the incident comes to the same conclusion, but in the end, the decision lay with seemingly the only person who missed the call, and the only one whose opinion on the subject matters.
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