Michael Oliver has admitted he should have sent-off Jordan Pickford against Liverpool earlier in the season.
The Everton goalkeeper produced a shocking tackle on Virgil van Dijk, causing cruciate ligament damage for the Dutchman and likely ending his season.
Because Van Dijk was offside, Oliver decided not to give Pickford his marching orders, despite fury surrounding the challenge.
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Mail, the referee, admits he got the decision badly wrong:
We have all, myself included, not thought about the challenge as much as we should have done.
We could still have given offside and sent Pickford off. What I was surprised about looking at it afterwards was that none of the players were asking for a Red card.
I have watched it back so many times. I genuinely don’t think Pickford has done anything apart from try to spread himself but he did it in the wrong way, as the injury shows.
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It is nice to actually see an official own up to his mistake, with too many staying silent on their decisions.
That being said, deciding not to send Pickford off was a shocking call, and it ultimately cost Liverpool two points on the day in a controversial Merseyside derby.
It was one of the worst tackles of the season and the Reds have now had to make do without arguably their most important player for many months.
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