Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg wrote in his column on the Daily Mail about the incident that forced Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk to be substituted in the first half of Saturday’s game at Everton.
The Dutchman was on the receiving end of a poor tackle from Jordan Pickford. There were calls for a penalty, but van Dijk was flagged offside before the incident and the referee chose to ignore what happened after.
The former Celtic defender was withdrawn a few minutes after the incident and that arguably cost Liverpool a victory in the Merseyside derby on Saturday.
The Reds confirmed on their official website yesterday that van Dijk will undergo surgery in the coming days. The Dutchman is expected to miss the majority of this season as a result, and that has angered every Liverpool fan out there.
There have been calls by some supporters about retrospective action on Pickford for his challenge, but that is unlikely. However, should he have seen red immediately after the incident? Mark Clattenburg has had his say.
He wrote: “At Goodison, referee Michael Oliver should have been told to look at his monitor by VAR David Coote. Had Oliver done so, I’m sure he would have sent off Jordan Pickford for his challenge on Virgil van Dijk.
“VAR looked at the incident and decided it wasn’t a red-card offence. I disagree. I’ve also heard it claimed Pickford could not be dismissed because Van Dijk was offside — rubbish. Oliver had not blown his whistle by the time Pickford lunged in, so he could still have been punished.”
A red card for Pickford for his challenge would have completely changed the game. Liverpool are hard enough to beat with 11 men but, with Everton a man down, Jurgen Klopp’s side would arguably have taken all three points.
Van Dijk’s injury is a massive blow for Liverpool’s title chances. The Dutchman is arguably their most important player, and Klopp will now have to find a way to fill the huge void the Dutchman has left at the back.
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