Michael Oliver ‘did not have his best performance’ in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday, according to former referee chief Keith Hackett who labelled the official ‘weak’.
It was a dramatic evening at Goodison Park as Everton took an early lead through Beto, quickly cancelled out by Alexis Mac Allister.
Mohamed Salah then put Liverpool ahead on 73 minutes before James Tarkwoski equalised deep into stoppage time to send Goodison Park wild as the game ended 2-2.
Things got a little too wild after that, with both Abdoulaye Doucoure and Curtis Jones shown red cards for a scuffle, then Liverpool boss Arne Slot and his assistant also shown reds for protests after the final whistle.
Former PGMOL boss Hackett feels referee Oliver made a number of mistakes over the piece, specifically which cost Liverpool.
He firstly felt there was no foul by Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate on Everton forward Iliman Ndiaye, which was given as a free-kick and led to Beto’s opener.
Posting on X, Hackett wrote: ‘This was an incorrect award of a free kick that then went into to result in Everton scoring their opening goal.
‘A huge error!! By referee Oliver who did not have his best performance. He needs some coaching advice from the PGMOL. Then I look and see that Lee Mason is the Head of Coaching!!! Say no more.’
Hackett also felt Oliver failed to control the goal celebrations after Tarkowski’s dramatic late equaliser, saying he was weak in his handling of the situation.
‘The celebration of goals creates dangerous crowd surges. Thought Oliver was weak,’ he wrote.
The former referee added: ‘There was a lot wrong in this performance from Oliver. You are only has good as your last game. I would not be happy with that effort by him.’
What Slot was shown a red card for after the game was not entirely clear, with the Reds manager approaching Oliver, shaking his hand pretty firmly and saying something, but what he said was not picked up on television cameras.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk hit out at Oliver after the match, saying he lacked control of the feisty game, the last Merseyside derby to take place at Goodison Park.
‘Obviously you saw how they celebrated the goal, and they have every right to,’ the Dutch defender told TNT Sports.
‘I think Doucoure in the end wanted to provoke our fans and Curtis didn’t think that was the right thing to do and obviosuly you know what happens when there is a tussle.
‘I think the ref didn’t have the game under control in my opinion … Both teams have to deal with it. It is what it is. We just need to move on.’
The draw left Liverpool seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table, while Everton continue to distance themselves from the relegation zone, not 10 points clear of Leicester City who sit 18th.
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