Jack Grealish didn’t hold back on his frustrations with the referee Darren England following Everton’s 2-1 defeat vs Liverpool in the Merseyside derby.
Wayne Rooney is in agreement with Jack Grealish’s frustration with referee Darren England following Saturday’s Merseyside derby. Everton were on the receiving end of a 2-1 defeat to rivals Liverpool in the clash at Anfield.
Goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike put Liverpool 2-0 ahead in the first half. Idrissa Gueye’s goal in the second half gave Everton hope of getting something from the game.
As the Blues searched for an equaliser, they became frustrated with the officials. First for England showing a yellow card to midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall when taking a quick free kick and then for the lack of additional time added to the end of the game.
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Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Grealish didn’t hide his feelings. “It was a bit frustrating in the second half, because they were trying to slow the game down at times,” he said.
“I’ve never seen a player in my whole life get booked for taking a quick free-kick. I don’t know where that rule has come in.
“Even the stoppage time, what was it, three minutes and one minute? Come on, I’ve never seen that in the Premier League in the last two or three years.”
When asked if he was frustrated, Grealish added: “Yeah, of course. Listen, I get sometimes you want to let the game go, but then you can’t not give something for us. Two seconds later, one of their defenders gets touched in the back, goes down, and he gives it.
“I’m just like, you can’t do that. I get it, you come to these stadiums and the crowd are on you and I think they feel like they’ve got to give it.
“But like I said, I think Kieran is now on four yellows, he’s only got one more [before a ban] and he gets a yellow today for taking a quick free-kick. We want to get the game going, we’re losing the game, you know?. I’ve never heard of that in my life.”
It’s a situation that Rooney, who came through the academy at Everton, believes that the players are right to be annoyed with.
“I’ve seen Jack’s rant about the referee, which I agree with,” he said on BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show. “I think two or three times, he stopped Everton from taking quick free-kicks; maybe he wanted a breather and wanted a rest.
“But in that situation, I can understand why Jack got frustrated and was having a go at the referee because you’re trying to get back in the game and the referee has completely stopped that momentum.”
Dewsbury-Hall also showed his frustration at his yellow card. Following the game, he put three posts on his Instagram story with pictures from the game with a caption which said: “Spirited performance 2nd half but ultimately disappointing result.
“Quick turnaround to put it right Tuesday! Amazing support. Let’s not talk about that yellow…”
As a fan, I totally agree with Grealishs frustration! The refs decisions, especially the yellow card for a quick free-kick, were absolutely bizarre and cost us crucial momentum. Its a real shame how those calls could swing a game.Nano Banana free