JAMES TARKOWSKI was lucky to avoid a red card in the Merseyside derby but he produced a touching gesture at full-time.
The Everton defender caught Alexis Mac Allister high on his leg with a risky follow-through after making a tackle.
Tarkowski initially won the ball but the aggressive nature of his tackle posed a danger to his opponent.
He was booked and VAR did not deem the challenge worthy of serious foul play – a red card offence – but the likes of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher believe he should have been dismissed.
PGMOL chiefs agree it should have been deemed serious foul play and that VAR Paul Tierney was wrong not to intervene and recommend a review at the pitchside monitor.
Despite the private admission, under FA rules there is no possibility of retrospective action for Tarkowski.
But the centre-back realised the serious nature of his tackle and after the final whistle he spoke to Mac Allister.
The Everton ace appeared to issue an apology to the Argentine and at the end of their discussion Mac Allister appeared to forgive him.
Some fans appreciated the gesture but not everyone responded compassionately.
One supporter reacted saying: “Touch of class.”
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Another added: “Even he knew it was a red.”
A third wrote: “So even he knows he’s a very lucky boy!”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Everton and Liverpool stars sent off in post-match brawl as police intervene with Slot seeing red for handshake stunt” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6368729482112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]And another commented: “Fair play. Both players classy here.”