Virgil van Dijk comment about Anthony Taylor speaks volumes - and Premier League should take note

Virgil van Dijk has made a pointed comment about 'the English referee' after the Netherlands saw a goal chalked off against France. And while it will no doubt make the Premier League bristle, the Liverpool man is right.

It did not escape the attention of viewers that in a Euro 2024 tournament where speedy VAR checks have been a breath of fresh air, it was Stuart Atwell who took an age to reach a decision while manning the technology. On-field referee Anthony Taylor spent minutes trying to explain the situation to captains Antoine Griezmann (filling in for Kylian Mbappe) and an increasingly irate Van Dijk.

Ultimately, few not of a France persuasion were satisfied with the final outcome. Denzel Dumfries was ruled to be interfering with Mike Maignan's ability to dive for Xavi Simons' shot, doing so from an offside position.

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"We scored a goal that is a fair goal," Van Dijk insisted after the match. "He had no chance to get into that corner. But yeah, the English referee decided to disallow it."

The pointed reference to Taylor's nationality speaks volumes. It's pretty clear that Van Dijk is questioning the level of officiating in this country — and frankly, he's right to do so.

Whenever there are complaints about referees, and especially VAR, there's a certain kind of person who will always rush to tell you that these problems are happening everywhere, not just in England. And while it's true that there is no point chasing a fictional utopia where every decision is prompt and correct (which is why video technology was never a good idea, by the way), it's wrong to just shut down criticism of Premier League officiating specifically.

Perhaps it's true that English refereeing is not significantly worse than it is elsewhere. But it's certainly not better, and the Premier League is meant to be the best division in the world.

It's undoubtedly the richest. Why does it continue to almost exclusively rely on homegrown refereeing talent, when it could expand the pool and pay for the very best in the business?

Jarred Gillet has made the switch from the A-League to the Premier League, and done a broadly good job. But what looked like it might signal a new era has instead proved to be a total outlier, with no other overseas referees being appointed.

The bottom line is that England has just two referees on the Elite list — one of whom is Taylor, as it happens, although the controversy with Van Dijk had more to do with the assistant referee and Atwell on VAR. Italy, Germany, Spain and France all have three.

The Premier League is settling for substandard officials, and it's harming the quality of the division. Now, England is even harming the quality of the Euros by exporting its talent to the tournament.

It's little wonder Van Dijk is annoyed; he seemingly cannot escape these English referees. But the Premier League can, and it is long past time for it to swallow its pride and look at why its officials attract such criticism.