the controversial Everton-Liverpool match: the defiant phrase to the referee and the player who reported racist insults

Goodison Park was the scene of its last Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton , who will move to their new stadium from next season. And the most recent edition will be remembered for the brawl at the end of the match, which led to three people being sent off after the Toffees ' late equaliser against the Premier League leaders

The pending match of the 15th round - which had been suspended due to weather conditions - ended with a goal from James Tarkowski in the 97th minute to give the hosts a 2-2 draw against the leaders, who could only extend their advantage to seven points over runner-up Arsenal . The euphoric collective celebration allowed the locals to move a little further away from the relegation zone and to keep a fond memory of the classic that will mark their farewell to a historic stronghold in English football.

However, the match still had a lot to tell, as Michael Oliver 's final whistle was followed by a peculiar gesture from Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucouré who allegedly went to celebrate on the sidelines where the Reds fans were located , as reported by ESPN . Aware of this, visiting midfielder Curtis Jones approached his position to recriminate this situation and a fight began on the pitch that ended with both players being sent off

That list added a third name, after Oliver also showed Liverpool manager Arne Slot a red card . In several videos, the manager can be seen approaching the referee, shaking his hand and apparently speaking in his direction. “Great game ,” he told the referee, as reconstructed by the Daily Mail newspaper with lip-reading expert Jeremy Freeman.

After this situation, he ended up being sent off and Slot became so angry that he challenged him: “Of course, are you going to give me a red card for that? I'll check later. You and I, yes?” His assistant coach, Sipke Hulshoff , suffered the same punishment after arguing heatedly about the validation of the home team's draw in the last play of the match.

Virgil van Dijk was the player who stepped up to calm things down between the two sides of the argument and came to the defence of his coach, saying a sentence that would confirm the disciplinary sanction for a “pull” in the handshake: “Hey, Michael, that wasn’t a pull. Michael, it’s nothing personal .” Later, the coach tried to clarify the situation with Oliver: “Will we talk later?”

Speaking to reporters, Van Dijk spoke to TNT Sports to take aim at their long-time rivals and how they celebrated their agonising draw: “ We all know this is their cup final .” Everton were eliminated from the FA Cup in the round of 32, were eliminated on penalties by Southampton in the same phase of the League Cup , are not playing in international competitions and are in 15th place in the Premier League .

Liverpool’s experienced captain questioned Michael Oliver’s work in the 90 minutes: “I think the referee had a big part in today’s game in terms of some fouls being ruled fouls and others not.” And on the situation at the end, he told his side of the story: “ I think Doucoure wanted to provoke our fans , I think that’s what I saw. Curtis didn’t think that was the right thing to do and obviously you know what happens when there’s a little bit of a fight.”

Both clubs issued a statement after the match, condemning “racist insults” directed at Doucouré himself and adding: “ These insults are reprehensible and will not, and should not, be tolerated. The two clubs will cooperate with Merseyside Police, who are conducting an investigation to identify those responsible .”

On the footballing front, Beto had put Everton ahead and Alexis Mac Allister levelled the scoreline in the first quarter of an hour. Mohamed Salah completed the comeback in the second half, but Tarkowski 's equaliser put the game to bed. Now, the Toffees will face Crystal Palace this Saturday at 2:30 p.m., while Liverpool will play again this Sunday at 11 a.m. (Argentine time) against Wolverhampton .

The joint statement from Liverpool and Everton

Everton and Liverpool football clubs are aware of the racist abuse received by Abdoulaye Doucoure following Wednesday night's Merseyside derby and condemn it in the strongest possible terms.

These insults are reprehensible and will not, and should not, be tolerated.

Both clubs will be working closely with Merseyside Police, who are conducting an investigation to identify those responsible.

We also encourage people who witness or experience online abuse to report it and highlight it on the social media platforms where it appears.

Everyone, including social media companies, must take a zero-tolerance stance. Platforms must take responsibility and take steps to ban this type of abuse.

Racism and hate have no place on the internet, in our stadiums or in our communities.