Barkley’s late lunge on Jordan Henderson was one of the few flashpoints of a disappointing derby.
Don Hutchison played on either side of the Merseyside divide but that does not mean he was content to sit on the Twitter fence during Monday’s titanic yet ultimately tedious clash between Everton and Liverpool.
A scrappy affair was settled by a suitably scrappy goal just a few minutes from the end, Sadio Mane reacting sharper than Toffees goalkeeper Joel Robles to tap home after Daniel Sturridge’s effort had squirmed back of the post.
In truth, that was a rare moment of drama in a game that failed to spark into life, although a series of committed challenges ensured it still possessed that feisty derby feel.
In particular, Ross Barkley could consider himself lucky not to have picked up a straight red for a dangerous lunge on visiting skipper Jordan Henderson in the second half.
Henderson claimed that the under-fire Everton midfielder had apologised for his challenge, for which he was booked by referee Mike Dean, but Hutchison, who enjoyed spells at both Anfield and Goodison Park, pulled no punches in his assessment of the incident.
Dean has certainly taken new laws brought in at the start of the season to penalise grappling and shirt pulling inside the penalty area very seriously indeed, drawing the ire of Mark Hughes in particular after Ryan Shawcross conceded a seemingly soft spot kick to set Stoke City on their way to a 4-1 home defeat to Manchester City.
However, Barkley’s tackle does appear to have been borne out of a determination to win back possession rather than any more sinister motives.
That said, after a weekend which saw Jamie Vardy receive a straight red for a much less reckless challenge, it once again brings to attention the inconsistencies of officiating.
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