Sky Sports journalist notes uneven FA response to Everton and Liverpool after Richarlison charge
Sky Sports’ Ben Grounds has noted the apparent differing treatment of Everton and Liverpool by the FA after Richarlison was charged Wednesday (1 June).
The Brazilian has been given a week until 8 June to respond over his handling of a blue smoke canister after scoring against Chelsea a month ago (1 June), to which he posted a proud response on Twitter.
Those around the club, including former captain and Goodison News pundit Kevin Campbell, assert that he picked up the item and threw it out of the corner of the ground.
Grounds has contrasted this with Reds youngster Harvey Elliott holding a red version after victory in the Carabao Cup final, for which he received a letter asking for “observations” (The Athletic) but apparently no charge.
The Sky man wrote on his personal Twitter account: “Harvey Elliott handles red flare in Carabao Cup final = receives a letter off FA.
“Richarlison throws a lit flare out of the ground = Charged with improper conduct”.
He also compared the response of the governing body to the two Merseyside clubs’ respective managers, after Frank Lampard was fined £30,000 this week for his comments following the derby at Anfield (24 April), while Klopp escaped punishment for his own problems with a referee earlier in the same season (Mirror).
He wrote: “Jurgen Klopp tells Paul Tierney he has “no problems with referees, only you” = no FA charge”.
“Frank Lampard says Liverpool would’ve been awarded a penalty had Salah gone down like Gordon did in a challenge that referee Stuart Attwell did not penalise = Fined £30,000 by FA”.
Bad look
There may be a technical explanation as to why the two sets of circumstances are different and why the response in each case wasn’t the same.
But if there is then it is small enough for the headline appearance to be one of favouritism towards the Anfield club.
Since the fine they dished out to Lampard was based on his implication that Attwell was biased towards Klopp’s side during the 2-0 defeat, the FA creating an appearance of bias in their own handling of the incident looks like a major own goal.
The lack of an overt suggestion that Tierney would favour one team over the other might be what allowed Klopp to escape further action.
Similarly, perhaps the FA don’t have a problem with handling banned smoke canisters, and it is the throwing that upset them.
Those are the obvious distinctions, but the events are certainly similar enough to create a significant appearance of unequal treatment, and not least because the two sides are immediate local rivals.
The footballing authorities in this country are hardly in Toffees fans good books after this season, and this will only worsen that.
In other Everton news, Fabrizio Romano has delivered a concerning update on one Goodison star’s future.
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