Everton shouldn’t apologise for Pickford challenge
Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has apparently apologised for the tackle by Jordan Pickford on Virgil Van Dijk in last weekend’s Merseyside derby.
The BBC are quoting the Everton boss making the apology. However, I don’t believe that this is the right response from either Ancelotti or the club.
The key reason is that by appearing to apologise, it gives the media an opportunity to make it seem as though the team and the club are somehow collectively accepting responsiblity for what happened. The media don’t need any more ammunition to fire at this controversy.
Let’s be clear once more. Pickford had a rush of blood and made a silly, rash and ill-timed attempt to stop his opponent and in the process he clattered into Van Dijk, leaving him injured.
He did not go into the tackle to hurt the Liverpool defender and in fact it was simply a consequence of how awkwardly his body made contact with Van Dijk that led to the subsequent injury itself.
It was emphatically not, as some of the media coverage is attempting to suggest, a deliberate lunge to willfully cause his opponent physical damage.
On many other occasions, challenges such as Pickford’s don’t result in a serious injury and the player affected would have got up and shaken it off.
Let’s not forget, just a few minutes earlier Van Dijk deliberately went through on James Rodriguez to attempt to put a marker down on the Blues Colombian play maker. That’s fair enough, it was a derby and physical intimidation or edge is part of any successful football team.
However, that challenge could have ended badly if the Toffees star had been caught the wrong way or landed awkwardly. If Rodriguez had been hurt like Van Dijk, would the media reaction have been as hysterical? I think we all know the answer to that.
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In fact, Rodriguez was actually injured in that challenge, although he played on and will now miss the Toffees trip to Southampton on Sunday.
We don’t know how serious his injury is yet, but any lengthy absence for Rodriguez will be just as significant for Everton as Van Dijk’s is for Liverpool. Perhaps the Colombian should consider legal action as well..?
Anyway getting back to the original issue, I don’t think Everton should be responding in any way to this hyped-up and selectively self-righteous media hullabaloo.
Certainly the Blues shouldn’t apologise publicly because that can simply be used to justify the outrageous response in the first place.
Certainly if Pickford himself wants to apologise to Van Dijk, fine let him do so, preferably privately.
Next. Brands Everton contract to be considered in January. dark
The best thing for the club to do is maintain a dignified silence and let this nonsense run its course and then hopefully we can move on from this as soon as possible.