‘It’s not reckless’ - Stephen Warnock verdict on Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk’s sending off

Dermot Gallagher, alongside former players Stephen Warnock and Sue Smith, have explained the reasoning behind the decision to send off Virgil Van Dijk against Newcastle.

The Liverpool skipper was sent off in the 28th minute for a tackle on Alexander Isak which saw him receive the first red card of his Liverpool career.

Fortunately, two late second-half goals from Darwin Nunez saw them record an extraordinary victory at St James’ Park, but the captain will now miss the next three games against Aston Villa, Wolves and West Ham.

On the incident itself, his tackle saw him take out Isak first as he looked to use the pace of the ball to get past Van Dijk, before he stepped in to challenge the Newcastle striker winning the ball as the last man and, despite his protests, he was dismissed for the challenge.

Speaking on Sky Sports News’ Ref Watch programme, the trio reviewed the incident to explain the decision to send the defender off, with all three in agreement that the red card was justified.

However, the former Aston Villa player did sympathise with Van Dijk for the nature of the sending off.

“I think it’s hugely frustrating for players on the pitch and ex-players to see something like this given as a red card because there is a genuine attempt to play the ball - it’s not reckless, it’s not malicious in any way.

“But, by the letter of the law, it’s a red card, is it a frustrating red card, do we want to see it? No we don’t.

“I think Shay Given made a good point about it yesterday - I didn’t get what Jamie Carragher was saying that it wasn’t a clear goalscoring opportunity, I think it is because of the line of the ball.

“I think Shay Given was right, he doesn’t have to touch the ball - how many times do we see a ball roll across a player and they use the defender and the weight of the pass to then get a first time shot away? It’s frustrating but probably the right decision.”

Due to the nature of the rules, Van Dijk may be able to get away with just a one-game suspension, according to the rules of the Premier League due to the nature of his challenge.