Jurgen Klopp stepped in to ensure Virgil van Dijk left the pitch after the Liverpool defender was sent off against Newcastle.
Van Dijk was given his marching orders by referee John Brooks after scything down Alexander Isak when the Magpies striker was seemingly through on goal. The challenge saw Brooks immediately issue a red card – much to the bewilderment of Van Dijk.
In a clip shared on social media, the Dutchman can be seen telling Brooks that the decision is a “f****** joke” before leaving the field. Van Dijk could be seen remonstrating with fourth official Craig Pawson before Klopp came over. The Liverpool manager intervened and spoke to his captain, who would then finally make his way down the tunnel.
Van Dijk’s dismissal capped a rotten opening half an hour for Liverpool, who fell behind courtesy of a strike from former Everton winger Anthony Gordon after an error from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
And the Reds could have been down to 10 men long before Van Dijk saw red after Alexander-Arnold – booked moments earlier for throwing the ball away – was given the benefit of the doubt by Brooks after preventing a transition by knocking Gordon to the ground.
Liverpool reacted to Van Dijk’s dismissal by sacrificing Luis Diaz for Joe Gomez as the Reds went in behind at the break.
Although Brooks had no hesitation in showing a red card, Van Dijk’s dismissal divided opinion online. Match of the Day host Gary Lineker was one of the first to react.
He reacted on X – the social media website formally known as Twitter – posting: “Might not be the general consensus but that looked like a very harsh red card to me. @VirgilvDijk clearly got the ball. Maybe my eyes are getting worse in my old age.”
Alan Shearer, a Newcastle fan and a regular alongside Lineker on the BBC highlights show, was having none of it, though. He quipped back: “After he got the player! Get to spec savers
