EVERTON’S Richarlison has made a public apology to Thiago following his heavy challenge on the Liverpool ace. Thiago was later whisked to hospital for scans with the extent of the damage yet to be revealed. The Toffees star claims his “over-dedication” led to the late lunge on the Spain international which resulted in a red […]
EVERTON’S Richarlison has made a public apology to Thiago following his heavy challenge on the Liverpool ace.
Thiago was later whisked to hospital for scans with the extent of the damage yet to be revealed.
The Toffees star claims his “over-dedication” led to the late lunge on the Spain international which resulted in a red card for the forward in the Merseyside derby.
The Brazilian insists he had no intention of hurting Jurgen Klopp’s newest superstar – who was sent to hospital for a scan following the 2-2 thriller.
In the letter on his website Richarlison wrote: “What happened today was a fatality from sheer over-dedication.
“I did not enter that dispute with the intention of hurting Thiago.
“When I saw that the crash was going to happen, I picked up my foot and hit him with my knee in the pass, which was inevitable due to the speed of the play.
“I already sent a message to him apologising and I also do it here publicly. I hope he hasn’t been hurt and that everything is fine.
“I also apologise to my team-mates, my club and my fans for leaving them with one less at the end of the game.
“Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to change what happened, other than to reflect, work and move on.”
Richarlison and Thiago were involved in a brutal collision in the closing stages of the dramatic Goodison Park encounter.
Replays show the ball bouncing in the middle of the pitch, with the Everton attacker arriving late with his studs crunching Thiago’s shin.
Both players were left injured on the turf following the collision, with referee Michael Oliver giving the Goodison ace his marching orders in the 89th minute.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was left dismayed by the challenge and flagged concerns about Thiago’s condition after the game.
Klopp told BT Sport: “It’s not only a red card for Richarlison but a massive foul on Thiago.
“It doesn’t look good and we don’t know what he has.”
Everton managed to avoid another of their players seeing red with Jordan Pickford remaining on the pitch after crashing into Virgil van Dijk.
The 2-2 draw left Carlo Ancelotti’s side top of the table ahead of their match against Southampton next Sunday.
