James Tarkowski's gesture to Alexis Mac Allister speaks volumes after VAR red card incident

James Tarkowski was seen sharing a moment with at the end of the Merseyside derby following his X-rated tackle on the star. The defender was fortunate to escape a red card following the challenge, .

caught Mac Allister late and high, leaving the Argentine in agony. But referee Samuel Barrot - and VAR official Paul Tierney - .

The confirmed Tarkowski was not sent off as he 'played the ball', saying in a social media post: "The referee’s call of yellow card for a reckless foul by Tarkowski was checked by the VAR, with contact on the follow through after Tarkowski had played the ball deemed to be reckless."

While plenty of fans and pundits were left bewildered by the decision, there did, at least, seem to be no hard feelings between the pair .

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Tarkowski was seen shaking hands with Mac Allister before pulling the midfielder in for a word. Both seemed to be smiling and shook hands again before moving on, indicating there was no grudge.

Although Mac Allister seemed happy to let things be, Tarkowski was slammed by a number of pundits during the game. Former Premier League referee insisted the decision was completely wrong on News.

Dean said: "He should have gone to the screen and he should be off. It is a horrible challenge. It is a red card all day."

What did you make of Tarkowski's tackle?

, also speaking on Sky Sports, went one further and also called out the officials. He said: "We'll talk about VAR but the referee, Sam Barrot, he's in a brilliant position - he should give that on the pitch. He has to see that. Has to. It's a shocking tackle, we know it should be a red card, it's not even really up for debate. The referee should get it."

The former Liverpool man was then asked by Kelly Cates if the referee may have thought it was a natural follow through from Tarkowski's tackle, to which he replied: "No. It's an awful tackle and we know Tarkowski knows what he's doing there. He's got previous as well, against Everton for , we covered it on Monday Night , but the referee should give it on the pitch.

"For Paul Tierney [then] not to give it on VAR is shocking."

and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our