Keith Hackett, former general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), believes Virgil van Dijk was fortunate to avoid a red card during Liverpool’s League Cup semi-final second leg against Tottenham Hotspur.
In the third minute of the match, van Dijk tangled with Richarlison, leaving the Tottenham forward rolling on the pitch, holding his face.
Although referee Craig Pawson stopped the game to assess the situation, he did not penalize van Dijk, and VAR official Michael Salisbury confirmed the decision after reviewing the incident.
Replays showed van Dijk’s arm making contact with Richarlison’s face, which the Tottenham player interpreted as an elbow.
Hackett suggested that van Dijk could have been booked for reckless behavior, noting that the challenge bordered on excessive force.
He considered a yellow card to be the minimum sanction, though he refrained from calling it a red card.
Had van Dijk received a red card, he would have missed Liverpool’s upcoming FA Cup match against Plymouth, the Merseyside derby against Everton, and the following match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Richarlison, on the other hand, had to leave the pitch in first-half added time due to an unrelated injury.
Van Dijk played on and later scored Liverpool’s fourth goal, heading in an Alexis Mac Allister corner.
Manager Arne Slot made five substitutions in the final 20 minutes, including replacing van Dijk with Jarell Quansah to close out the game.
This article was updated 3 days ago
