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Liverpool receive new Virgil van Dijk red card referee verdict after Tottenham flashpoint

Richarlison reacts after clashing with Virgil van Dijk.
-Credit:Getty Images


The ex-Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) general manager Keith Hackett reckons Virgil van Dijk could have seen red in Liverpool's League Cup semi-final second leg against Tottenham Hotspur. Van Dijk tangled with Richarlison in the third minute of the match at Anfield and left the former Everton star rolling around holding his face on the pitch.

Craig Pawson had to pause the match, as a result, but did not deem the incident a foul. Replays showed the Reds captain's arm made contact with his opponent's face.

However, the video assistant referee (VAR), Michael Salisbury, checked that challenge in which both became entangled while trying to win the ball. Richarlison, however, believed the Liverpool centre-back elbowed him.

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Hackett has also acknowledged that the Reds were fortunate to keep 11 players on the pitch. "There is no doubt that Virgil van Dijk can count himself very, very fortunate to have used arm, or elbow, against his opponent and come away with no sanction," he told Football Insider.

"This was, at the very least, reckless and should have been a minimum yellow card; it bordered on excessive force. But I think I'd just give him the benefit of the doubt and go yellow, not red."

Had he been shown a straight red card, for violent conduct, Van Dijk would have missed Sunday's FA Cup fourth-round tie with Plymouth Argyle, the midweek Merseyside derby at Goodison Park against Everton and then the visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers to Anfield next weekend. Richarlison, however, would leave the action before his adversary, departing in first-half added-time because of an unrelated injury.

The Reds' skipper also stayed on the pitch long enough to score a fourth and final goal of the night, heading in an Alexis Mac Allister corner. Arne Slot made five changes during the final 20 minutes, one of which saw Mac Allister replace Curtis Jones, while the last change saw Jarell Quansah replace Van Dijk to see out the tie.