Paul Merson has admitted that it’s quite simply a ‘joke’ that Everton’s Jordan Pickford avoided punishment for the tackle that brought Virgil van Dijk’s Liverpool season to a premature end.
The towering Dutch defender was ruled out for the rest of the 2020-21 campaign earlier this week after suffering a knee injury away to the Toffees.
The Everton goalkeeper lunged in on the Liverpool star and not only avoided the concession of a penalty and red card, but no retrospective action can be taken because it was seen and deemed fair by the officials at the time.
And although Merson has told The Daily Star that it’s crazy how Pickford won’t be punished, he claims the reaction from a small portion of Liverpool fans on social media has been way over-the-top.
He said: “Pickford should definitely have been sent off. It was a joke, that decision. If it happens anywhere else on the pitch, he gets sent off.
“Jordan Pickford is not the first person to make a tackle like that and he won’t be the last. He shouldn’t be getting death threats for what happened to Virgil Van Dijk. Anyone doing that to another human being needs to take a long hard look at themselves.”
It’s been such a rotten few weeks for the former Sunderland goalkeeper, a £30 million signing in 2017.
Even leaving aside this incident, it’s been an error-laden season for the Everton man so far, but Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that he’ll continue between the sticks for tomorrow’s trip to Southampton.
And so long as he has the backing of his manager, the quicker he can get back to normal.
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