Arne Slot Slams Offside Rule Despite Liverpool's 1-0 Win Over Everton

Liverpool's 1-0 win over Everton, as Arne Slot criticizes the offside rule despite his team benefiting from it, while James Tarkowski's reckless tackle sparks outrage.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot expressed his disagreement with the offside rule that allowed Diogo Jota's goal to stand in their 1-0 win over Everton on Wednesday. Despite his reservations about the rule, Slot acknowledged that the officials made the correct decision. Jota scored the decisive goal just before the hour mark at Anfield, extending Liverpool's lead at the top of the Premier League to 12 points.

The goal was made possible by Luis Diaz, who was in an offside position when James Tarkowski intercepted a pass intended for the Colombian. However, Diaz then seized on the loose ball and set up Jota to score. Everton boss David Moyes disputed the goal, calling it “clearly offside.” In contrast, Slot believed the officials applied the rules correctly, given Tarkowski's deliberate play on the ball.

Slot clarified his stance on the offside rule, stating, “It was not offside, according to the rules. Do I like the rule? No, I don't like the rule. I hate that rule but the execution of the rule was fortunately for us today well done in that situation.” Despite his personal dislike of the rule, Slot recognized that it was applied correctly in this instance, ultimately benefiting his team.

The match between Everton and Liverpool was marred by controversy, with two highly disputed calls made by the referee. The first incident occurred just 11 minutes into the game, when Everton captain James Tarkowski committed a reckless lunge on Alexis Mac Allister. Despite the severity of the challenge, referee Samuel Barrott only issued a yellow card, and VAR did not intervene to review the decision.

Liverpool must continue to assess the availability of Alisson Becker and Conor Bradley for Sunday’s #PremierLeague trip to Fulham. ⤵️ #FULLIV

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Everton manager David Moyes declined to comment on the specific incident, acknowledging that many others had already spoken out about the challenge. Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville, who was commentating on the match, described Tarkowski's tackle as a “leg breaker.” Moyes did, however, admit that his captain was fortunate to avoid a red card. “Since I have seen it, we could have been lucky we didn't get a red,” Moyes said. “It looked a high one. I think it was the follow through that looked worse.”