VAR official Paul Tierney surprisingly decided to cosign on-field referee Samuel Barrett’s decision not to send off Everton defender James Tarkowski in the first half of Wednesday’s Merseyside derby, a 1-0 Liverpool victory.
From the perspective of former Reds manager Jurgen Klopp, perhaps this isn’t a surprise. The German often found himself in a war of words with Tierney during his nine-year stint with Liverpool. Klopp once bemoaned, “I have no problem with any referees, only you,” about Tierney in 2021.
In this instance, Tarkowski aggressively slid to clear the ball in front of a fast-approaching Alexis Mac Allister in front of the 18-yard box 11 minutes into the contest. Arne Slot was left shaking his head on the touchline, clearly unhappy with the decision.
The English defender may have gotten to the ball first, but his leg dangled dangerously high on the follow-through – his studs clattered midway up Mac Allister’s calf and sent the Argentine midfielder rolling in pain.
Barnett awarded the incident as a yellow on the field but allowed Tierney and VAR to take a look. After a lengthy review process, the call was upheld.
Tierney, serving as the on-field referee for Tottenham vs Liverpool in December 2021, sent off defender Andy Robertson on a 50-50 challenge, promoting the aforementioned Klopp quotes.
(Image: Getty Images)
This was far from the only incident between the two. In the Reds’ 2-2 draw against Arsenal in April 2023, Robertson was elbowed by Tierney’s assistant referee. After the match, an aggrieved Klopp said, “I think there are some things we could talk about but they are not really helpful, and that’s why I would prefer not to talk about it.”
Later that campaign, Diogo Jota scored in injury time to give Liverpool a dramatic 4-3 victory over Tottenham at Anfield. Even in jubilation, Klopp’s post-match comments focused on Tierney. “What he said to me was not okay,” he said, before adding. “We have to ask Mr. Tierney what is going on.”
Klopp, currently the Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull, will likely not weigh in publicly on Tarkowski’s tackle. However, a share of pundits already dubbed the decision ridiculous.
“That’s a potential leg breaker,” Gary Neville said on the Sky broadcast. “I think he’s very lucky there. There will be those who say it’s a natural follow-through. Trust me, being a defender, Carragher in the studio will be able to tell you even better than me, you don’t need to follow through like that [and] with such force. And it’s high. Very lucky.”
Back in the studio, Carragher agreed with Neville’s assessment. “The referee should give it on the pitch, but for Paul Tierney to not give it on VAR is shocking,” the former Liverpool defender said at halftime.
