Liverpool legend Graeme Souness has clashed with Jamie Carragher over Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and his challenge on Virgil van Dijk.
It has now been confirmed Van Dijk will need surgery on his knee and is facing a lengthy layoff.
Carragher defended Pickford for the tackle.
"There'll be a lot of frustrations from Liverpool wanting Pickford to be banned," he said.
"I am going to defend Pickford on that. I've had my leg broken, I nearly broke Nani's leg. These things happen unfortunately in football.
"I don't believe anyone goes out to deliberately hurt someone. Jordan Pickford is all over the place with his game at the moment."
Souness, however, furiously hit back, and insisted players from any level of football would be getting sent off for Pickford's "assault".
He said: "Any professional or semi-professional who has played the game, maybe the guys on Hackney Marshes, when they look at that, their focus isn't on the offside, it's on the player. It's outrageous. For me, it's: wow.
"These people who make these decisions who look at that and talk about offside, I just don't get it. I've been to Stockley Park, it's nigh on impossible to make a mistake. And they still get it wrong.
"That was an assault, not a tackle an assault."
