Simon Jordan has slammed both Sean Dyche and the officials over the decision to give the Everton boss a yellow card during the Merseyside derby.

Dyche was booked by referee Craig Pawson midway through the second half of Everton’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool after he gesticulated in frustration after Ibrahima Konate wasn’t shown a second yellow card for a foul on Beto.

The Blues boss was left irritated by the decision and didn’t believe that he deserved a caution for the reaction, but former Crystal Palace chairman Jordan has criticised both Dyche’s response and the laws which the officials now have to follow.

Speaking on talkSport’s White & Jordan on Monday (23 October, 11:44) he said: “The reason why Sean was given a yellow card was not because the fans inside the stadium were gesticulating but because he occupies a position of authority and that means he comes to a different standard to the fans.

“When he talks about how he was stunned he got a yellow card because he was doing what everyone else was doing, you’re the manager of the football team, not a random sitting in the crowd that doesn’t affect the outcome. On that side, I think: ‘Sean don’t be silly’. There’s judgment in that and subjectivity.

“If the referee considers him a person in authority – whether that be a player, a captain of a side or manager of the season – breaching the current protocol or guidelines of how they should behave, they’re forced into the situation.

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“The tragedy is we’ve gone to a binary choice. We now arrive at this ridiculous decision where exasperation over a decision that is clearly wrong meets a consequence.”

Strange rule

Although Jordan appears to have just blamed everyone involved in the booking on Saturday (21 October) his comments do have more than a bit of truth to them as the nature of the rules make decisions incredibly difficult for referees while players and managers have to walk a tightrope.

The decision at Anfield was clearly wrong and Dyche was totally entitled to be frustrated by it, but by the letter of the law Pawson then has to book the Everton boss as he has reacted in a certain manner to the decision that has been made.

Ultimately, that means the officials are further compounding their error by following it up with a second mistake. Had Dyche been booked for a reaction to a decision that had then been overturned by VAR, would he have had his yellow card rescinded?

Once again this issue is a product of the convoluted rules that referees have to follow, however, an experienced manager like Dyche should know when to hide his true feelings about a decision and by the letter of the law (rightly or wrongly) he had to be booked, so he can’t have too many complaints.