Virgil van Dijk was shown a straight red card in Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over Newcastle last month – but he could be punished further than the one-match ban he was given
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is facing a longer ban after ignoring orders from John Brooks as he left the pitch following his red card against Newcastle.
The 32-year-old was shown a red card during Liverpool’s 2-1 victory at St James’ Park after bringing down Alexander Isak before the forward could get through on goal. Referee Brooks was in no doubt and reached for his back pocket to send the Dutchman off after committing the foul.
VAR had another look at the incident but chose to stick with Brooks’ on field decision, meaning the Reds would have to play over an hour with 10 men. Liverpool were 1-0 down at the time of Van Dijk’s dismissal, but they managed to come back and win the match 2-1 thanks to a late Darwin Nunez brace.
But it is safe to say Van Dijk was far from pleased with his red card. The Netherlands international could yet be hit with an additional punishment from the FA after he appeared to tell Brooks that his decision was a “f***ing joke”. Van Dijk also took his time to leave the field and remonstrated with fourth official Craig Pawson before Jurgen Klopp intervened and the defender walked down the tunnel.
Almost 10 days on from the incident and Howard Webb has backed Brooks during the first of this season’s monthly editions of “Match Officials Mic’d Up”. The programme, which is presented by Michael Owen, will explain and clarify contentious decisions that occur in the Premier League.
Van Dijk’s red card was one they highlighted. Footage and audio showed communications between Brooks and VAR official Stuart Attwell. After Van Dijk brought down Isak, Brooks could be heard saying: “He comes through the man to play the ball” before telling the Liverpool players to “move away” while VAR had a look at it.
Brooks then told Van Dijk to “wait” until a decision had been made. He also added: “You will need to go immediately if I tell you you’ve got to go.” Liverpool’s players continued to insist that it was not a red card but Brooks was insistent that he had made the correct call.
Although VAR agreed with Brooks, Van Dijk refused to accept the decision and reluctantly left the pitch. His actions and comments he made following the incident have landed him in hot water with the FA, who have charged him with improper conduct.
According to The Sun, Van Dijk is facing the prospect of an extra match ban after ignoring orders from Brooks. If Van Dijk does receive another game ban, he could miss Liverpool’s game against Wolves on September 16.
Webb had his say on the incident. “We think it’s a good identification of a foul by John Brooks, the referee,” he said. “We see that in the end Van Dijk does play the ball but to get there he clearly kicks through the foot on Alexander Isak.
Virgil van Dijk was not happy with John Brooks’ decision (Â
Iain Buist/Newcastle Chronicle)
“It’s not only a free-kick, but it also denies Isak an obvious goalscoring opportunity. He is close to goal, he is going to be able to control the ball quite easily, there are no covering defenders. And, of course, we know the direction is towards the goal.
