Arne Slot admits ’emotions got better of me’ after seeing red amid derby drama

Liverpool boss Arne Slot admitted “emotions got the better of me” after he was sent off during the chaotic scenes at the end of the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Wednesday night.

Slot was shown a red card by referee Michael Oliver after the full-time whistle, having seen Everton defender James Tarkowski score in the eighth minute of time added on to earn a 2-2 draw on a historic night.

The Dutchman has now been charged by the Football Association with being abusive to match officials and is likely to face a touchline ban.

He has until Wednesday to respond, however, meaning he will be in the dugout for Sunday’s visit of Wolves.

Speaking at a press conference before the FA announced the charges, Slot admitted he “made the wrong decision”.

He said: “I think what happened was that the extra five minutes ended up being eight. It happened a lot.

“Emotions got the better of me. If I could do that differently, if I look back I would love to do that differently and I hope to do that differently next time.

“There is an ongoing process and I don’t want to disturb that.

“I should have acted differently after the game, but it’s an emotional sport and sometimes individuals make wrong decisions and that’s definitely what I did.”

Slot’s assistant Sipke Hulshoff was also sent off after the final whistle, while Liverpool’s Curtis Jones and Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure were also dismissed, having been shown second yellow cards as players from both sides clashed in the aftermath of the game. Hulshoff and both clubs have also been charged.

Slot’s red card came after he spoke to Oliver in the centre of the pitch.

“There were many things in extra time that led to me being quite emotional,” the Liverpool boss said. “There was a VAR incident for two minutes where he checked, I thought the only that could happen is he looks back at the foul or maybe it’s offside.

“Of course then after 10 minutes you hear their fans cheering, OK, it wasn’t offside. Many things happened in the end phase in extra time but it wouldn’t be smart to go into every single incident.”

After the final whistle blew, Doucoure had celebrated in front of the Liverpool fans in the corner of Goodison Park, with Jones immediately confronting him before other players piled in.

“I like a lot that he stands up for the team, but there are also other ways for the team and fans to do that,” Slot said of Jones.

“I will talk with him about that. It is the same for me, I should have acted differently after the game as well.”

Liverpool were far from their fluent best in the cauldron-like atmosphere at Goodison, but prior to Tarkowski’s late intervention had been on course to go nine points clear at the top of the Premier League.

“I felt immediately after the referee blew his whistle we had lost two points,” Slot added.

“For the whole 98 minutes it didn’t feel constantly we were the ones who were going to win the game, it was an equal game, a draw was maybe a fair result but with us leading after 97 minutes we were quite close to winning the game and it felt as though we dropped two points.

“But we won a lot as well with the togetherness of the team, together with the fans, how much we fought to get the result over the line.”