Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk receives extra ban and fine after red card reaction vs Newcastle

Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk has been suspended for an extra match and given a hefty fine after he was found guilty of acting in an improper manner following his sending off against Newcastle United.

The Dutch defender was shown a red card in the 28th minute of the Premier League match at St. James’ Park on August 27 for a last-man tackle on Alexander Isak.

His response was to question the referee and he was clearly unhappy with the decision, which threatened a defeat with the Reds trailing 1-0 against Eddie Howe’s side with most of the match to go.

As a result, Van Dijk has been suspended for an extra match and fined £100,000 after admitting he acted in an improper manner and used abusive and insulting words towards a match official.

The centre-back has already missed the 3-0 win against Aston Villa on September 3 and will now be banned for the game Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 16.

Van Dijk recently commented on the incident saying: “That was not typical for me. I’ve never got one before at Liverpool, and I think only four times in my entire career. But apart from that I still started the season well. I feel good and strong, I cannot wait to return.”

And he will feel confident too, given the start his side have made. Three wins, one draw and no losses in the first four games sees them sitting in third place behind Tottenham and Manchester City.

With Van Dijk off the pitch, his side had to endure nearly 70 minutes of action with 10-men against what is a strong Newcastle side.

A standout save from Alisson and an incredible substitute cameo from Darwin Nunez was enough to pull of a miraclous victory and suddenly, the feel-good factor and confidence is back under Jurgen Klopp.

Even at 32, Van Dijk is still one of the best around and incredibly important to the success of this Liverpool side.

Also out of action is Ibrahim Konate, leaving Joel Matip and Joe Gomez as his replacement - with Konate missing the last two games before the international break.

Gomez has looked strong in his last two appearances but fans will want to see their first-choice partnership of Van Dijk and Konate back together as soon as possible to help consolidate their strong start.