Kuyt plays down Neville challenge

But the Dutchman insisted there was no malice in the two-footed aerial lunge at Everton's Phil Neville that infuriated the home players and manager David Moyes.

Kuyt claimed: "People saw the TV and said my booking looks bad. But I was just trying to make a tackle and I did not want to touch the player, and I didn't. Maybe I was a bit lucky, but I never had any intention of trying to hit the player, it was a yellow card and I accept that."

That does not cut any ice with Everton's veteran defender Alan Stubbs, who led the condemnation of the challenge afterwards.

Stubbs said: "That was a two-footed lunge. If a player leaves the ground with both feet, that's a red card, and he gets a yellow.

"In the laws of the game if a player goes in with two feet and makes a lunge, and that is what it was, it's a red.

"If Phil (Neville) hadn't been so honest he could have been rolling around and trying to get him sent off. It's a two-footed tackle and that's a red card offence."

Stubbs was also furious with referee Mark Clattenburg after the game's crucial turning point when Tony Hibbert was sent off for bringing down Steven Gerrard in the box, a penalty confidently put away by Kuyt 10 minutes before his flying tackle on Neville.

Everton were deservedly ahead from a first-half Sami Hyypia own goal at that point, and Stubbs said: "The referee went to book Tony Hibbert holding a yellow card, their player (Gerrard) walks past him (the referee) and it's changed to a red. Have a look at the replay, and see for yourself.

"We saw the replays. That's disappointing. We were 1-0 at half-time and on top, we had control of the game. The penalty changed everything, it gave them impetus and we were a man down. It was always going to be difficult after that with them having more of the ball and pressure."