The real reason for Arne Slot‘s dismissal after the Merseyside derby has now been revealed by an expert lip-reader.
The clash at Goodison Park ended in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night, with a mass brawl that resulted in four red cards after the final whistle.
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones and Everton‘s Abdoulaye Doucoure were dismissed after clashing at the end of a thrilling 2-2 draw.
Jones was incensed by Doucoure’s celebration in front of the away fans just minutes after the Toffees had rescued a point against their city rivals.
Hands were raised during a feisty scuffle that drew the attention of both sets of players, police, stewards and the Reds boss Slot, who was then also shown a red card by referee Oliver in a testy exchange around their on-the-field handshake.
Now, expert lip-reader Jeremy Freeman has lifted the lid on what exactly Slot told Oliver both before and after being dismissed at Goodison Park.
The real reason for Arne Slot dismissal after the Merseyside derby has now been revealed
An expert lip-reader lifted the lid on what lead to the Dutchman’s sending off on Wednesday
In one clip, Slot could be seen approaching referee Oliver after the full-time whistle. As he walks up to the official, the Dutchman said: ‘Great game’.
They proceeded to shake hands, with Slot seemingly pulling Oliver in his direction before the official quickly brandished a red card from his pocket.
It’s been revealed that a bemused Slot then responded: ‘Sure, you give me a red for that? I will check it out for later. Me and you ya?’
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk also remonstrated with the official and – seemingly confirming that the red card was related to a ‘pull’ in the handshake – said: ‘Hey, Michael, that was not a pull. Michael, it isn’t personal’.
The Premier League have now deleted a statement suggesting Slot will be handed a two-match touchline ban, referencing his alleged ‘offensive, insulting, or abusive language’.
Our expert lip-reader then analysed another clip from the post-match antics which showed Van Dijk attempting to defuse the situation.
The Liverpool defender told his teammates ‘Go, hey go…go in’ before then telling Oliver again that it was ‘nothing personal’.
In that same clip, Liverpool boss Slot could be seen asking Oliver: ‘We’ll talk after?’
In a third clip from the post-match chaos, Van Dijk was seen speaking with Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure – who also received a sending off for the brawl.
The Dutch defender, with a grin on his face, said: ‘Hey, good idea?’
Virgil van Dijk attempted to defuse the situation and told officials that it was ‘nothing personal’
The Dutch defender also goaded Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure after he was sent off
Reds assistant manager Sipke Hulshoff was also dismissed after ferociously arguing with the official about the awarding of Everton’s equaliser.
The atmosphere at Goodison Park was at fever pitch after James Tarkowski had smashed in a half-volley in the eighth-minute of stoppage time.
The home fans’ celebrations were then abruptly halted as the strike came under a lengthy VAR review.
But Goodison Park was able to erupt again once the goal was confirmed, the final in a pulsating draw.
