{"id":2696,"date":"2025-04-05T03:04:22","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T03:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/2696\/"},"modified":"2025-04-05T03:04:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T03:04:22","slug":"paul-tierney-has-no-credibility-after-tarkowski-var-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/2696\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPaul Tierney has no credibility after Tarkowski VAR decision\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Join<\/a><\/p>\n

In the latest episode of \u201cMolby On The Spot\u201d on Anfield Index, Liverpool legend Jan Molby gave a scathing assessment of Liverpool\u2019s 1-0 win over Everton at Anfield. While the Reds secured a vital three points in the title race, Molby was far more interested in what he saw as a failure of basic refereeing standards, particularly the decision not to send off James Tarkowski for his tackle on Alexis Mac Allister.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in the ground last night,\u201d Molby said, \u201cand you were watching repeatedly, Jota, Diaz, different players fouled time after time and the referee just waved play on. Just not even difficult fouls to call \u2013 the most obvious fouls you can see.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it was Tarkowski\u2019s lunge on Mac Allister that left Molby incensed. Referee Paul Tierney chose not to issue a red card, even after a VAR review \u2013 something the former midfielder found totally unacceptable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cHow Paul Tierney can watch the replay of that Tarkowski challenge on Mac Allister and not come to a red card decision\u2026 something needs to be done about that,\u201d Molby said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo: IMAGO
\n\u201cGross Incompetence\u201d in the VAR Booth<\/p>\n

Molby didn\u2019t stop there. He continued to tear into Tierney and the video assistant referee system, calling the incident a clear example of professional failure.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven Duncan Ferguson \u2013 big Dunc, the man with the Everton badge on his arm \u2013 was clear and said it\u2019s an easy decision. It was a clear red card, no doubt about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the use of VAR, Molby said:<\/p>\n

\u201cTo watch that and not give a red card, to me, screams gross incompetence. Now in a workplace, we can all make mistakes \u2013 but there are different levels of mistakes. And gross misconduct would usually constitute dismissal.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just about one bad tackle. Molby painted a picture of a match in which Liverpool players were repeatedly fouled with impunity, and officials failed to protect them.<\/p>\n

Slot Keeps His Cool Amid Controversy<\/p>\n

While Molby vented his frustration, he acknowledged that Liverpool head coach Arne Slot took a more measured approach in his post-match comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cSlot didn\u2019t pile on,\u201d Molby said. \u201cThere was a class to it. He said, \u2018Let\u2019s move on to Sunday.\u2019\u201d The Dutchman was \u201cmagnanimous in the whole thing\u201d according to Molby, but that didn\u2019t mean the incident should be ignored.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t just sack all the refs,\u201d Molby admitted, \u201cbut I just can\u2019t see how that can be left alone, that something doesn\u2019t get done.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Officials in Spotlight Again<\/p>\n

Molby\u2019s analysis was not merely the rant of a partisan former player. It was a forensic breakdown of officiating standards, and a reminder of how far things have fallen. He even questioned Tierney\u2019s credibility going forward, asking: \u201cHow does he have any credibility at all?\u201d<\/p>\n

Molby went on to suggest that refereeing bodies need to look at how officials are promoted and assessed:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis referee looked out of his depth. And it was interesting that they said he was newly promoted. Over-promoted, I think that\u2019s fair to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Win That Didn\u2019t Feel Right<\/p>\n

For all the satisfaction of taking three points from their city rivals, the mood in Molby\u2019s review was not celebratory. Instead, it was a warning to Liverpool, to the Premier League, and to fans of the game: poor officiating is becoming the story, when it should be about football.<\/p>\n

Liverpool may have walked away with the win, but as Molby made clear, there was only one major talking point:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou expect bad decisions. You don\u2019t expect this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Join<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the latest episode of \u201cMolby On The Spot\u201d on Anfield Index, Liverpool legend Jan Molby gave a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1647,1648,1121,1467,1123,1649,1650,1651,1652,1653,1654,763,1655,1466,1656,1657,1658,1659,79,1660,16,15,1661],"class_list":{"0":"post-2696","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-alexis-mac-allister","9":"tag-anfield-index","10":"tag-arne-slot","11":"tag-everton-fc","12":"tag-featured","13":"tag-gross-incompetence","14":"tag-james-tarkowski","15":"tag-jan-molby","16":"tag-lfc-fan-reaction","17":"tag-lfc-podcast","18":"tag-liverpool-1-0-everton","19":"tag-liverpool-fc","20":"tag-liverpool-vs-everton","21":"tag-merseyside-derby","22":"tag-molby-on-the-spot","23":"tag-paul-tierney","24":"tag-premier-league-referees","25":"tag-refereeing-standards","26":"tag-sports","27":"tag-tarkowski-red-card","28":"tag-uk","29":"tag-united-kingdom","30":"tag-var-controversy"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114283142588941515","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}