Richarlison issues Alcântara apology

They also seem to overlook Robertson and Van Dijk getting away with stuff.

It's embarrassing that the media continually give the RS such favours within weeks of them conceding 7 to Villa, their coach arguing with pundits due to criticism that turned out to be well judged, and them trying a power grab during a pandemic.

In contrast, some of Van Dijk's actions prior to the interaction with Pickford were deliberate acts, for which an apology is entirely appropriate.

The biggest disappointment for me is that Richarlison now misses three crucial games, Ancelotti doesn't seem to like Bernard and all of a sudden Anthony Gordon has fallen out of favour.

Makes me wonder why we never tried replacing Kean, a move for Josh King would have been very welcome but that's passed and gone.

Richarlison had a poor game today, barely saw the ball, had one decent chance and grew frustrated. That challenge was pure futility, the lad needs a rest too.

It's polluted the game this cheating, and every single team in the league is responsible. It's what the powers that be have helped create, because they have never come down hard on the diving, the feigning of injury, or the imaginary card wavers, allowing players to cheat, whilst ex-players to sit in the studio, and try to keep restructuring the game.

Football is getting closer to losing its appeal, and I'm sure I'm not the only person thinking like this, because the lack of integrity is shocking imo.

I actually think Richarlison takes the moral high ground with the apology. Genuine or astute? I'm not sure.

Genuine and astute.

It's a public apology, I'm a member of the public, and I don't recognise the apology. I recognise much more significant and repeated acts where the game has been brought into disrepute, too often by LFC.

The media wankfest & fawning for this club disgusts me, regardless of the wrong-doing, they get away with it.

Anything that goes against this shower has to have a steward's enquiry for about 5 days.

Don't ever apologise for anything when it concerns them bastards.

I enjoy interacting mate, chin up!

What goes around comes around.

Pickford on VVD was like a dog going after it's bone. Brain disengagement, eyes locked on to the bone, red mist, get bone 🦴. Pickford was trying his best for the Everton cause, that I like, but sometimes too often when he is forced to think on the spot he cannot make the right decision.

It sounds like the lad has a bad injury and I hope he has a speedy recovery.

We have until tomorrow evening to sign Josh King.

Apologies are substantial if they represent a commitment to change of action in the future, otherwise they are simply empty gestures so beloved of politicians and disingenuous types generally. Such empty gestures are potentially dangerous in diverting attention from issues of real substance where action for change is really needed.

This has nothing to do with lowering oneself, but quite the opposite. There are much bigger fish to fry than Richarlison's sending off yesterday, and it is utterly j appropriate that the latter take focus away from the former.

One text me at half time saying that bad decision had ruined the game, but I just spun it asking him why when they still had eleven men.

I thought Liverpool were robbed at the end, but although I can't listen to Shearer, I've saw the headline were he's criticizing Oliver for not sending Pickford off.

This hypocritical bastard once made an FA draw, on the pretext of avoiding a ban after assaulting Robbie Savage? But they now get a voice, which isn't even a voice of reason imo.

Pickford made a great save, but I agree with your assessment JP, that he needs a rest, and maybe Van Dyke wouldn't have got injured if he wasn't off-side?

Tongue in cheek? No, it's a grey area for me, Pickford has been all over the place on crosses for a while now, because he doesn't know if he's coming or going, (Never on the front, he's always on his back foot) and for Shearer to say the ref should still go and check the monitor, even though Van Dyke was ruled offside doesn't make any sense to me, because the keeper was not trying to intentionally hurt Van Dyke?

Oliver is another fraud imo, look at some of the penalties he's awarded already this season, and ask why he didn't give Richarlison one? Never a stone wall penalty for me, but this is my biggest example of why I want the game to change.

I can act all condescending to kopites, because this was the most contentious decision, along with that atrocious VAR decision at the end, but I just want to see a honest game of football, and honest men discussing it at the end.

I'm not really bothered about the discussion at the end to be honest, but loads of people who don't know enough about the game, go on about what these people have said is definitely gospel. If it was then Mane, should have been sent off at the same time as Richarlison, so let's treat everyone as equals, and make some big changes to the beautiful game right now.

I will say it again John P, football the greatest spectator sport in the world, has been stolen, and is slowly getting destroyed by trial by slow motion TV, and VAR.

We are decent, honest, honorable and fair minded people. They aren't, so feck 'em.

Equally the kick out from Robertson is a straight red in today's game. Both incidents resulted in players injured and players feigning injury.

The commentators picked up on Richarleson play acting and rightly critisised him for it.

In Robertson's case they sympathised and expressed concern about the potential impact of the fake injury. Less than a minute after limping off he sprinted 60 yards and fell over his own feet when trying to pass the ball.

We have all experienced the bias towards them in Derby games over the years. Yesterday's VAR incident is one of the few things that has gone in our favour.

Richarleson will be a massive miss for us over the next 3 games. His work rate is unbelievable.

It will be choice between Sigurdsson or Iwobi as Ancelotti doesn't appear to rate Bernard whilst Gordon seems to have been given the cold shoulder after his visit to the office to ask why he isn't playing!

Loads of fight, and loads of spirit, a new team in the making, and hopefully fortune favoring the brave. Their kids gave us the runaround ten months ago, but I thought we were slowly grounding away at their best team yesterday, until Mina's poor clearance, was ruthlessly exposed by Salah?

We never wilted, we then went and scored arguably the goal of the game, and a player I haven't thought about since the day he left came into my mind, because we have replaced a coward with a little fighter.

No more shrugging of the Schniederlin shoulder, we had Allan leading by example, fighting, scratching, getting in amongst them, the type of player that's needed when things are not going your way, and that's why we never wilted yesterday, along with Rodriguez constantly trying to get on the ball.

As an aside, if VAR decisions are going to 'even out', why not go back to the odd human error and flowing game? To these eyes, there is at least as much error and far more disruption under VAR.

Yesterday, for a change, we went toe to toe with them and they didn't like it. We even got the decisions. But we showed the commitment and desire that should be the bare minimum, which gave us the odd chance to show our class, like for our second goal.

I hope Carlo has a strong word with Pickford & Richarlison - on another day, their lack of discipline may have cost us. I hope his strongest words are for the squad - same commitment, same desire, same cussedness.

Keep the faith, Tony. Whatever the game's doing to itself, I think we could be onto something here.

The big apology bit has been rolled out in public life this last decade to excuse any kind of wrong-doing, Politicians, Multi-Billionaires, Church Leaders etc etc..it's become expected by the media... fake news as some orange faced moron would say.

Great game to watch, good to see us really physcially getting stuck in, worried Pickford is such a Jekyll & Hyde, but "if someone would have offered a draw before the game, I woulda taken it"...classic football cliche.

Hope we can learn a bit from this and the momentum/confidence remains high.

I felt the new boys were a little shocked at the pace and aggression of the RS press. They all seem to want a bit more time to pick out THE pass. They'd have been told what to expect, now they have experienced it.
The shite just seemed to know when to play and when to hit the percentage ball. but that comes from experience of this type of match. Now that our boys have tested the water. They will know more about what you can and cant get away with.
I would feel very confident if we were playing them again next week.
I would never play Gomes again against opposition who we know will press with aggression and speed. His brain may be quick enough, but the rest of him isn't.

Pickford made a couple of good saves and an absolute worldy. but I'd swap him for a steady goalie who simply does the basics in a heartbeat. His erratic decision making and poor concentration is there for all to see. It cant be good for the confidence of those in front of him
I am amazed competition wasnt brought in when the window was open. A decision which could well come back to bite us in the arse.

Needs to pull his socks up

Maybe it is a bit rash to dismiss Gomes from all future high intensity games, but he worries me. The player we are seeing now is a yard slower than the one you watched at Anfield two seasons ago.

Hope I'm wrong, but I don't believe that fella will ever come back

Just my opinion, but Allan & Dacoure playing centrally together, with Rodriguez just ahead of them, might work better?

I'd swap Richarlison to the right after his suspension, and try Bernard on the left. Just my own choice, some might go with Iwobi, but football seems to be about covering the flanks right now, stopping the space that this big fashionable switch creates.

I definitely think we are on the right linesPT, but don't kid yourself about the power of the media, and Liverpool own so many of these people right now, like Don Corleone and his nickel and dime Politicians, but we've got our own Don as well now, thank god!

Gordon will thrive in big games and Bernard with his 20 minutes might come in handy. I hope Carlo is already sorting the goalie situation out for January. Time to see if this big Dane can do it.

A decent young man has done something very few of us ever do - least of all high profile public figures - acknowledged an error, issued a public apology and is getting ridiculed and grief from his own supporters for doing so.

The wise words of Dr David France comes to mind with regard to all things that have resulted from yesterday's game:

'Everton versus Liverpool is humility vs arrogance, loyalty vs entitlement and art vs pornography.'

Thank you Richarlison for your humility, loyalty, art and integrity.

Regarding Pickford, I suspect Carlo will buy the keeper he really wants next summer. FFP restricts us and perhaps he felt other positions were a more inmmediate priority. That Liverpool team won trophies with the untrustworthy Grobbelaar, but I'd prefer someone more solid.

Kudos to the Blues for not capitulating and showing the heart that wasn't evident for many years.

Everton have no control over VAR and it would have been sickening to lose this game at the death (not for the first time in a derby) and even more so that it was Southgate's pet Henderson who ''scored''.

Pickford could have easily been red carded and still might be suspended but Richie deserved his.
Richie like Grealish gets kicked a lot but has to control it.

We have seen many derbies like this in the past and have always come away with nothing but ''the times they are a changin''.

Press and media seem intent on some anti-Everton and pro-LFC agenda. Someone should call Them out on it.

Seems that it's completely unpalatable for them to see 2 teams from Merseyside competing near the top.

No such sentiment when it comes to promoting the virtues of the likes of Leicester, Wolves and Sheff Utd last season.

It's transparent and it stinks.

Coleman, McCarthy, Anichebe, Oviedo, Gomes. All players that were completely crocked by opposition players. Everton know only too well what it's like to have a player directly injure one of your players and it rule them out for a year in most of these cases.

Everton not the media pursued any kind of witch hunt for any of the players involved. In fact, Son's challenge last season was particularly horrendous. The result, a snapped part of the leg for Andre Gomes. But it was nice smiley Son and London based Tottenham so no problems there.

These things happen in football. Move on.

Aside from players getting crocked by other players, there's also an element of bad luck. LFC seem to have not had much of a share of this bad luck for many years.

For example: Kone, Arteta, Jags, Yakubu, Bolasie, Gbamin, Rodrigo, Barkley, Cenk... there are probably others that I've forgotten. But it's usually about one per season for us. And it's sometimes a career finisher, it's nearly always a 12 month job and it's sometimes a relatively new signing

Yesterday we virtually played with ten men while he was on the field, this had a large bearing on our game, gave the midfield to them with the extra burden put on Allan and Doucouré.

The midfield is still light, as I don't think Sigurdsson or Davies completes a solid midfield, Delph, if he could only stay fit may plug the gap ‘til Carlo solves the problem, although there was a lot to admire in yesterday's performance and I think most of us have the confidence, now, that we will continue to get better and enjoy some great Everton games now and in the very near future.

Gomes is a player we should really look to move on. He was definitely worth taking at the fee we paid. However, yesterday showed what he's all about.

He can have a 9/10 performance about once every 20 games. But he's very much hit and miss the rest of the time.

Before his injury against spurs, he had been generally poor. The game against villa away from home early in the season, he was absolutely atrocious. He's an intelligent and brave player, he goes looking for the ball and is able to take up positions to receive it. But his distribution is often erratic. He gives it away an awful lot. He bottled a challenge on the touch line yesterday which then led to their first goal.

Too inconsistent for me. May well be better suited to another league and I think he retains some of his transfer value. So for this reason, move him on in January.

If memory serves me rightly the Rodwell non-red card was rightly criticised on MOTD and subsequently rescinded by the FA. I think Lee Dixon was quoted as saying "If that's a red card, we may as well pack up and go home"

Didnt help us on the day mind but we did get quite a bit of sympathy.

One Red I know (not a Kopite) has already bleated about VAR (fair enough), but accepts that we were also overdue some dodgy decisions in our favour in a derby based on what has happened in the past. Unlike Kopites who are aiming death threats and Pickfords family and claiming a conspiracy against them.

He is a top player and better than anyone we have on the bench right now so guys just please lay off him and soon he will be back to his best!

Already said it, but I loved Godfrey's first-team debut. Thrown in at the deep end as an injury-induced sub. Against arguably the best team in the UK. Against arguably their best-attacking player in Mane. In a game where we were on the back foot for so long.

And yet, his body language (I know, so dangerous to use that one) suggested he was not at all nervous. I just loved that early foray down the right, with really good close control of the ball while being menaced by several opposition players (forget who we played, apologies).

A regular in the first team before too long?

His form drops along with that of most of the team, he suffers a very bad injury, comes back from it with some good performances, is probably still on the road to 'full recovery' (similar to how Seamus was), has some poor performances, and we find that gone from 'man-love' to 'get rid'. Fickle doesn't even begin the describe it.

I think there may be mental aspects with Andre. You're right, though, he has to prove himself again or he will be replaced.

Playing someone with a better work rate out wide, might help us keep a better shape is what I'm saying Bill, because there was to much room for Liverpool to play in our midfield yesterday, and I'm just thinking of solutions to an area that teams are definitely going to try and exploit?

As for the role James plays, he is a playmaker who starts in a wide position. He does not play up and down the line. It would be a complete waste of his talents and nullify his attacking threat to play him that way.

The issue is not James but the third body in midfield. Gomes is not getting into games as he should. Against a steroid bloated trio he was a passenger. In games where we control the ball he's better.

If we had a more dynamic third member of our central trio, then James gets a bit more room to play / float around.

Still, lot of positives from yesterday. And plenty more to come. Tough match, nothing fundamentally broken, and the unbeaten run continues.

Regarding the cheating, I never liked the fact that a player would clearly put the ball out of play, and immediately raise his arm, claiming "Our ball". Things however have gone way beyond that, the feigning injury and rolling around as though in agony, the falling down at the merest touch, and the so-called ex-professional pundits saying "There was contact so he was entitled to go down." Yes, Tony, 'Football is losing its appeal.'

Yes, it was a bit rash and ill-timed but he had the decency to hold his hands up and show he is a decent human being as well as being a great footballer.

Why is it fickle? If People did declare a "man love" for him (nothing surprises me anymore) they will probably belong to a different group to those who are saying "get rid".

Not everyone felt "man love" simply because he played very well at Anfield and not everyone would go as far as calling his excellent display that night as "quite astonishing".

I despise this unconditional love which seems to have surfaced. Gomes got his plaudits when he played well and is quite rightly getting criticised for being a passenger in nearly every game since his comeback.

The guy himself has told us he received fantastic support to get him through his dark times when he suffered his terrible injury (I still don't buy the protests of Son's innocence). But there can be no room for sentiment. We cannot afford passengers if we are going to go to the next level.

I would love nothing more than to see the guy rediscover the form we all know he is capable of, but if he continues to struggle with the pace of the game. Ancelotti will have no option but to stand him down.

The Pickford tackle, if Van Dijk had not been hurt, nothing would have been said, and it was a reckless tackle by Pickford were he could have been injured also. Van Dijk had already laid down his marker that you shall not pass, and to quote if you live by the sword you die by the sword.

We don't like seeing anyone injured but we have seen plenty of Everton injuries in derby games with dubious tackles that never got punished, so all this red media going nuts for their poor favorites, suck it up: shit happens.

The point is it's all relative, James, Digne and maybe Richarlison give us maybe 3 genuinely top players on a good day but the rest, including Gomes, are either too inconsistent or way off the standard.

Just hope for Carlo's sake the present impetus isn't derailed or very quickly the worm will turn. Improved recruitment is a continuing necessity he needs to be looking at January now.

That's who he is, and that's what a true Evertonian exemplifies. I say bravo and well done.

The next 3 games will give Sigurdsson and Iwobi a chance but we hope Calvert-Lewin can keep this form up because he's made a huge difference, probably more than the new signings. His goal-scoring form is now more important with Richarlison being out, so all eyes on him.

If he carries on like that, it won't be long before he's challenging for a starting spot. More competition for places and building partnerships at the back can only be good going forward.

I am glad Thiago isn't seriously injured as it was a poor challenge, Pickford's challenge would not have been spoken about had Van Dijk not been injured, it wasn't good but not something thousands of keepers haven't done during a game. Hope he also recovers quickly but the stick Pickford is taking seems way out of control.

I propose that we offer them a deal: they stop bleating about the derby result on Saturday and well stop mentioning Bryan Thomas's disallowed goal and Dirk Kuyt's assault on Phil Neville.

While the guy coming back from such an injury is doing his best in a blue shirt, he deserves our patience.

If the manager selects him, we should support him

Yes the media over hype the tackles in part because it was against Liverpool but it's because of this why I think it's sensible.

Richarlison has often been the target of many bad tackles and poor play but he realises this course of action is probably in his best interests as a young sport's star and all that goes with it these days.

I would have expected Pickford to have done something similar. I know he went unpunished for it, but it tells me he's not as media savy or being as well advised as our Richarlison.

I think both were genuine attempts to win the ball. Richarlison's appeared to be a 50:50 challenge. I think he did get the ball but the studs first was what was wrong with it.

Well done to him for apologising.

Given the apparent bias and mob mentality of the media coverage of that game, it can be argued that apologising merely serves to feed that mob feeding frenzy, helping to escalate the criticism of Everton, criticism that is ultimately futile and repugnant.

Pickford made a terrible error of judgement, as he can do from time to time.

Richarlison left his foot in when he realised he had missed the ball. This happens quite often at all levels. It is as likely he was trying to not let Alcantara get away with the ball as it is that he wanted to hurt him.

Personally, I cannot stand the condescension of the Liverpool fan. Van Dijk I don't want to see injured but it has ruined their season and so it is absolutely hilarious. I am sure Gary Naismith had a wry smile.

If anyone thinks that this is media savvy, they're in fantasy land. Klopp protests in the atrocious modern style, like Mourinho, the style where they constantly get in the face of officials regardless of whether they're right or wrong. And what does Everton do? Apologise!!!

If anyone thinks we're out of the mental inferiority complex with Liverpool, on this showing they're wrong. It's the usual stuff, just go belly-up at the first hint of a tantrum from the likes of Klopp.

Could we do that? No, we do the usual keystone kops routine, mess the job up, then apologise. It's more pathetic than an apology to Clint Eastwood's mule.

The media seem a little schizo at the moment: Jamie Carragher on Sky pretty much said the injury was unfortunate but a consequence of fiercely contested games and even criticised the righteously indignant Souness for his blatant hypocrisy.

Meanwhile on MotD2, Danny Effing Murphy crowns Van Dijk as the best centre-back ever (well, that he's seen... but he obviously thinks he is best to judge) and thinks Van Dijk should be angry about the challenge (which would make him another whopping hypocrite).

Then they go on to close out the show with a celebration of the towering header including two in derbies, starting with Big Dunc and finishing with Calvert-Lewin's equaliser from yesterday.

I'm interested to note there has been very little information regarding the extent of the cruciate ligament damage. Based only on how freely he was moving when he exited, I think it could easily be quite limited and think he may be back in action in a couple of months. Of course, people like Murphy are solemnly predicting his season is over. I don't expect we will get to hear the full details until Pickford has been suitably punished for his ‘horrendous assault'.

And I agree with Stan – we shouldn't be apologising for shit.

Who knows if we are out of a mental inferiority complex? We fought really hard to stay in the game, but only the future will show us this.

The biggest thing is character or personality. How many times have you seen people apologise, say their sorry, and then just go and do the same thing again?

I've seen it loads. I saw Everton's strongest team absolutely shit themselves once they went behind at Anfield 10 months ago, playing against Liverpool's reserves. Why? Because it was a team without character, a team with no personality, and a team that didn't know how to roll their sleeves up and fight.

On Saturday, Everton fought, battled, showed character, rolled up their sleeves, and stayed in the game when the going got tough, so how can you just say people are wrong, Stan? Let the future decide this.

It would now be difficult for the FA to cave in to Liverpool's moaning and extend his ban when he did all he could not to injure the player once he realised the clash was inevitable.

I think the apology is more for fans and teammates, and for the injury, than the challenge itself.

They were mistimed tackles, that's all, but because it's those others, our two lads are being crucified. The more the club allow this, the more I'm convinced Pickford will be punished. The club need to say something now.

As for retrospective decisions, how far do you go back? We've suffered from a million bent decisions against them going back at least 50 years.

Time for the club to finally stand up for us and issue a statement backing our players and condemning the whinging kangaroo court and biased media reaction. Where are they when shit happens to us, deafening in their silence?

Tell them all where to go, we're not putting up with the whingefest any more.

Did any of the media crucify Son and that other awful teammate, who put Gomes out of the game for months?

Was a word said against Suarez for putting two of our players out with really cowardly tackles from behind? I've not heard a peep!

I honestly don't hate Liverpool per se, and some of my best mates of over 50 years are reds. I just hate the way we seem to collapse when we face them, both on and off the pitch. Yes, the lads battled hard on Saturday, but unfortunately all the attention is on some incidents where Everton are criticised, yet again.

Liverpool are dead jammy, but we don't help, in fact we help them. A few days ago, they were sort of in the spotlight for apparent dodgy moves to change the structure of footy, and our Everton asked for an apology, which of course was refused. The whole thing was a bit embarrassing for Liverpool, without any real spotlight from the media.

But that embarrassment didn't matter, because a few days later there's a derby match. We don't play that well... they do, we end up apologising for stuff, the media goes crazy, and now there's an intense spotlight on Everton the pub team.

The spotlight should have been on Everton and the way we'd been playing, slick entertaining and effective football, with or without a victory over Liverpool.

I sometimes think that EFC acts like the PR department for LFC, because we keep making them look better than they are, The whole thing is extremely frustrating.

I agree with you about our Club. I don't see why we haven't issued a strongly worded statement regarding the concentration of our so called "pub team" display of 2 incidents but no equal concentration on a number of bad fouls committed by the opponents throughout the match.

The worst aspect for me is the number of ex players from that nest of saTAN, WHO INFEST THE MEDIA (oops, sorry) and how they have influenced the referees for decades.

As fat as our team and our manager go, though, it seems to me that we fofught throughout the match and arte getting an attitute of Never Give In, which is great to see.

I agree with a previous poster who pointed out that the title of the column xcould have reflected on how well well we played, not how luck we were.

No crowd, but plenty of passion from the team, and it's heartening to see all the Wattsapps flying around, because you can see that Evertonians, are definitely not backing down to them either... Early days but it's been a long time🤞

Not a time to be carried away, but definitely a time when we should have no fear? It's been a great start.

I think we helped ourselves pretty well on Saturday - battled to a good draw, in which there were a couple of unfortunate incidents, that's all it is. Nothing to regret.

As for their virtuous and holier-than-holy fans, I remember them attacking the ambulance that was taking Alan Smith out of Anfield to hospital with a broken leg, so they can swivel.

Will, yes we did battle, and hopefully we'll carry that spirit on, together with the free-flowing football we'd been playing.

There's really only one way to alter the current behaviour of the media.

Everything about that club is a horrible, self centered ego fest. And they still believe any negative press is down to some sort of jealousy of a team that's won one domestic title in 30 years.

Remember Geoff Nulty and fuck them. Personally, I hope Harold Shipman is Van Dijk's surgeon.

Just imagine how they would have reacted had we been leading when that goal was disallowed.

I'm more disappointed with the fact that he'll now get a ban and we didn't get in any cover for the forward positions. I hope that doesn't prove to be short-sighted.

Southampton away isn't an easy game and Richardson will definitely be missed. Hopefully he comes back after his ban raring to make up for this mistake.

If it wasnt tough enough already, we have absolutely no hope of beating them in the return fixture because they are setting up the referee to send off one of our lads every time they breathe on a player.

Also the silence is deafening on the other lot over any sort of condemnation for the death threats sent to Pickford.

Any sympathy I had for them and the marginal VAR call that rightly should have been ruled in their favour, has gone straight out the window. Its bordering on embarrassing, and the latest announcement of the European Premier League smacks of them taking their ball away and going home like a spoilt child.

Not to be left out, Klopp said he feels the same as his players. You really feel for them, don't you, it must be absolutely terrible to be in their shoes. There is no end to their torment, and as to their poor fans, it doesn't bear thinking about what they are going through. My prayers go out to them.

Even now on the bbc website it is still going on about the injury, another headline saying injury hit Liverpool overcome Ajax, click into that and you get half the match report going on about Virgils injury and Pickford.

Carlo did mention that we have no Rodriguez for the Soton game due to an injury sustained in a challenge by Van Dijk.

Isolating things out of context, putting a negative spin on what Carlo actually did say.

Carlo Update

Whilst he uttered the words 'We are really sorry about Van Dijk's injury and hope he recovers quickly', that doesn't equate to submissive subservience, accepting culpability, as you are trying to portray it. It is a football man expressing sympathy to an opponent. That's all.

He clearly goes on to defend Jordan. That it was not premeditated, malicious or stupid. That the resulting feeding frenzy is too much and simply not true. That it was a football injury that can happen at any time, to any player, in the high-speed game of the PL.

Poor call, Will.

Isolating things out of context, putting a negative spin on what Carlo actually did say.

Carlo Update

Whilst he uttered the words 'We are really sorry about Van Dijk's injury and hope he recovers quickly', that doesn't equate to submissive subservience, accepting culpability, as you are trying to portray it. It is a football man expressing sympathy to an opponent. That's all.

He clearly goes on to defend Jordan. That it was not premeditated, malicious or stupid. That the resulting feeding frenzy is too much and simply not true. That it was a football injury that can happen at any time, to any player, in the high-speed game of the PL.

Poor call, Will.

Trying to bring some calm and commonsense to the issue.