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Highlights
- Virgil van Dijk celebrates Liverpool’s win despite red card, showing his elation in a video shared by the club’s official social media account.
- Van Dijk will be suspended for one game due to his red card but may face further punishment from the Football Association for his behavior towards the officials.
- Former referee Keith Hackett calls for “further sanctions” on Van Dijk, stating that the officials’ decision was correct and the player’s behavior was unnecessary.
Superb footage has emerged of Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk celebrating his team’s win despite his red card, although he could be in line for further punishment from the Football Association.
What’s the latest on Liverpool and Virgil van Dijk?
It was a hectic game at St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon as the Red made the trip up to face Newcastle United in their most recent Premier League fixture.
After all, it looked as though disappointment was in store for Jurgen Klopp and co when Trent Alexander-Arnold made a big mistake, affording Anthony Gordon the opportunity to make it 1-0 to the Magpies.
After the English winger put the home team ahead, Liverpool’s woes got even worse when their captain Van Dijk was handed a straight red card just three minutes later for a last-man foul on Alexander Isak.
Even so, the Reds battled valiantly throughout and with NUFC unable to make their extra-man advantage count, they were punished by substitute Darwin Nunez who levelled the game in the 81st minute.
Adding to the drama, the very same man then stunned the home team, leaving the St James’ Park faithful in silence as he bagged his second in the 93rd minute, helping Liverpool pick up a shock 2-1 win.
Having seen his team complete an incredible and unlikely comeback – albeit from his banished position in the away team’s dressing room – Van Dijk was understandably elated when the full-time whistle blew.
As you can see in this footage shared by the official Liverpool social media account, the laughing club captain delightedly hugs Nunez, shouting: “Let’s go!” He also saves a big hug for a very happy Jurgen Klopp.
How many games will Van Dijk miss?
While the defender is clearly pleased that his side picked up the win despite his mistake, Van Dijk will still have to face further consequences of his actions.
After all, because it was a red card, he will be suspended for the club’s home clash against Aston Villa next week. Though as it wasn’t a dismissal for violent conduct, but rather for a professional foul, he should only miss this one outing.
However, due to his behaviour when leaving the pitch, he may have landed himself in more hot water. Indeed, as per the Daily Mail, Van Dijk appeared to swear and berate referee John Brooks’ decision to send him off, reportedly calling it a “f***ing joke”. While he also had strong words with fourth official Craig Pawson before finally leaving the pitch.
The report notes that these comments potentially fall into the category of improper conduct towards match officials, which could result in further punishment from the FA.
What’s more, former referee Keith Hackett called for “further sanctions” on Van Dijk in his column for the Independent, claiming that the officials were “spot on” with that decision and so the player had no reason to behave as he did.
He explained: “VAR officials checked and confirmed that Brooks made the right decision, but Van Dijk continued to debate with the referee and showed a reluctance to leave the field of play. TV cameras picked him up shouting at Brooks that he thought the decision was a “f*****g joke” as he left the pitch.
“Depending on Brooks’s report after the match, Van Dijk should be in line to receive further sanctions.”
It’ll be interesting to see if anything more comes of this.