Sheffield's former top ref tells Liverpool they should SUE Jordan Pickford over 'premeditated' tackle on Virgil van Dijk in derby against Everton

Van Dijk is expected to miss the majority, if not all, of the current season after the collision with Everton goalkeeper Pickford, who escaped any on-field punishment.

The FA confirmed that the England stopper won't face any retrospective recriminations, either - much to the fury of the Premier League champions.

And Hackett, the Sheffield-born official who operated as a FIFA referee before being appointed boss of the Professional Game Match Officials Board, believes that Liverpool should now take legal action against Pickford.

"My view was that this action in football terms was premeditated. He forgot the ball and took the man out," Hackett said.

"[Van Dijk] will be out of the game; required operation and several months of rehabilitation. If this happened outside the stadium he [Pickford] would be arrested by the police and charged with an assault. This was an act of serious foul play.

"The administrators have let the game down by not rectifying the officials' glaring error. Liverpool should now sue Pickford."

Hackett also criticised VAR's failure to recommend a red card for Pickford, after a lengthy delay while an offside decision was checked.

The Daily Mail reported that David Coote, who was the VAR for the game, 'did not know' that he could punish Pickford - because van Dijk was marginally offside, and he thought that the offside decision nullified what came afterwards.

And Hackett, who was instrumental in the decision to introduce goal-line technology, has been a vocal critic of how VAR is currently being operated in the Premier League since its introduction at the start of last season.

"I am afraid that VAR is simply not been operated well," Hackett added.

"Firstly, how can any referee at the elite level miss this challenge? What was the VAR and Assistant VAR doing?

"Six match officials and none of them see the act of brutality by Pickford. Technology flawed.

"Match officials will always make mistakes. To have those errors compounded by a review system is not right."

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