James Tarkowski’s wife condemns ‘vile’ abuse and death threats after Liverpool challenge

James Tarkowski’s wife has condemned the ‘vile’ abuse the Everton defender has faced following his controversial challenge against Liverpool, branding some of the comments ‘beyond disgusting’.

Diogo Jota scored the only goal of the game in Wednesday’s Merseyside derby at Anfield to ensure Liverpool maintained their 12-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.

But Tarkowski robust tackle on Alexis Mac Allister in the first half dominated the post-match discussion, with replays showing the England international follow through on the midfielder’s calf.

Tarkowski was shown a yellow card by referee Samuel Barrott, a decision many assumed would be upgraded to a red after the footage was reviewed by VAR Paul Tierney.

However, Tierney concurred with Barrott’s initial verdict that Tarkowski had not used ‘excessive force’ and the 32-year-old centre-back remained on the field for the entirety of the contest as hosts Liverpool held firm to secure maximum points.

‘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,’ a statement from the Premier League Match Centre said.

Shortly after the final whistle, Tarkowski sought out Mac Allister to apologise and later admitted his challenge on the Argentinian was ‘not a great one’.

‘I spoke to him, I apologised because it was not a great tackle,’ Tarkowski told Premier League Productions.

‘When the ball fell between us I actually thought he was going to come in and I was expecting a big, old-school 50-50 tackle.

‘He just pulled out of the tackle, as I lunged in my follow-through caught him really high.

‘I’ve apologised to him and he’s accepted it but not a great one from me.’

Some Liverpool supporters weren’t quite so forgiving as Mac Allister, though, and Tarkowski has been inundated with a slew of unsavoury comments on his social media pages.

In an Instagram post on Thursday, Tarkowski’s partner, Samantha, stressed that the defender would never intentionally set out to harm an opposition player.

She called for those directing hateful messages at them both to stop, writing: ‘I wasn’t actually going to say anything because we usually just laugh it off but f*** it. The level of abuse my husband is receiving – wishing death on him, vile comments about me, about us as a couple, and about him as a person – is beyond disgusting.

‘People forget that he is more than just a footballer. He is a husband, a son, a brother, a friend, and most importantly, the father of our two children.

‘He goes out there and does his job and does it very f***ing well yet he’s subjected to so much hate.

‘For those acting like he deliberately set out to hurt someone – r u [sic: are you] serious!? Football moves at speed, and tackles are split-second decisions.

‘No player goes out there to injure someone and do you think any player would feel good about it if they did? But the pure s*** messages, the threats? That’s intentional. That’s on you.

‘Football is a sport, but the way some so-called “fans” behave is disgraceful. The abuse, the threats – it’s not passion, it’s pathetic. We’re real people, and this goes far beyond football.’

Tarkowski, who scored a dramatic late equaliser in Everton’s previous encounter with bitter rivals Liverpool, has been booked five times in the Premier League this season.

The former Burnley centre-half is expected to continue his run in the side this weekend when Everton face off against second-placed Arsenal in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off.

Victory over the Gunners would see David Moyes’ Toffees move 17 points clear of the relegation zone.

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