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Media’s reaction indicates anti-Everton bias

By Matt Townsend

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 17: Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool is tackled by Jordan Pickford of Everton which led to Virgil van Dijk being substituted for an injury during the Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park on October 17, 2020 in Liverpool, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 17: Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool is tackled by Jordan Pickford of Everton which led to Virgil van Dijk being substituted for an injury during the Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park on October 17, 2020 in Liverpool, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) /
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Predictably over the past few days the national media have reacted with outrage over Everton keeper Jordan Pickford’s derby challenge on Virgil Van Dijk.

The tackle by the Everton and England goalkeeper has left Van Dijk with an ACL injury that will keep him out for several months. Pickford isn’t going to be retrospectively punished.

It was, as we’ve said before, a very bad challenge and a characteristically impetuous, erratic moment from a keeper who has made many inexplicable decisions in his Toffees career.

However, Pickford’s tackle was hardly the worst ever seen in football. Yet if you listened to some of the media you would think he was the most heinous offender in the history of the game!

Comparing his challenge for example, to that infamous tackle made by Roy Keane on Alfe Inga Haaland, is totally outrageous and completely ridiculous.

I don’t think there was any intention on Pickford’s part to genuinely hurt the Liverpool defender, he rushed out recklessly to win the ball and the outcome was very unfortunate for Van Dijk. But it was nowhere near as calculated and deliberate as Keane’s infamous tackle.

I’ve already talked about the predictable reaction from Reds supporters and players to the incident. In some ways that’s understandable. After all lets be honest, if Adrian had rushed out and clattered into an Everton player like that leaving him seriously injured, Blues fans and his team mates would probably all feel the same.

However, the reaction of supposedly more considered and objective pundits and commentators in the various media outlets is less easy to understand or accept.

We can obviously also discount ex-Liverpool players who seem to populate every corner of the football media. Outlets like Sky Sports often seem to resemble a sort of employment agency for former Reds players rather than an unbiased broadcaster!

Former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness was at his most myopic after the game, claiming Pickford had assaulted Van Dijk. That would come as a surprise to the many opposition players Souness willfully hurt or injured during his long career!

To be fair one ex-Reds player did stick up for the England keeper: Jamie Carragher. The former Liverpool centre-back argued when debating Souness on Sky, that Pickford’s actions were just reckless – few would argue with that – rather than intentionally designed to cause injury.

Many of the other ex-players and commentators seem to be following the sort of depressing virtue-signalling trend that now dominates so much discussion of this type of thing or indeed any other public debates or controversies.

There is a competition to see who can act the most outraged and win the most points with the elite clubs and their many friends in the media.

I don’t seem to remember this type of hyperbolic outrage when Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min scythed down Andre Gomes and broke his ankle at Goodison Park last November?

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In fact the majority of the coverage was centered on how repentant he allegedly was and how that should be taken into account when determining his punishment.

Well in truth I don’t suppose any of this will surprise Toffees supporters, after all we’re well used to this one-eyed look at football. But it is a reminder of just how entrenched seem to be the media biases in favour of the so-called ‘big clubs’ – in particular Liverpool and Manchester United.

It is also interesting to see this in the context of reported moves to set up a new European super-league of some sort. This idea has been revived after the failure of the proposed ‘Project Big Picture’ moved of course by Liverpool and United.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this kind of controversy is used as a further justification for such proposals. There could be claims that the elite clubs and their players have to be protected from the dastardly behaviour of such lesser teams as Everton, who allegedly can’t compete in football terms and so must resort to such tactics!

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