Exclusive: Outrage at Van Dijk ‘weapon’ after Liverpool star escaped again v Fulham
Keith Hackett has slammed Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk after his actions in his side’s defeat to Fulham contributed to a pattern from the star centre-back.
Arne Slot‘s side hit a hurdle on their march to the Premier League title on Sunday (6 April), as they were beaten 3-2 at Craven Cottage.
Once again Van Dijk found himself in the spotlight for disciplinary issues that were not punished as severely as many felt they ought to have been.
The first came when both the Liverpool captain and goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher avoided conceding a penalty after just four minutes.
Virgil van Dijk clashes with Sander Berge
Another incident involving Van Dijk came during the second half of that game, as the Reds were looking to fight back after going 3-1 down before half time.
But as Fulham looked to pose a further threat from a corner, replays showed that Van Dijk had directed an elbow into the face of opposition midfielder Sander Berge.
| Virgil van Dijk in 2024/25 | Total (as per SofaScore) |
| Tackles per Game | 1.1 |
| Fouls per Game | 0.5 |
| Yellow Cards | 3 |
| Red Cards | 0 |
Despite that, the Liverpool captain managed to avoid punishment either from referee Chris Kavanagh or VAR.
Now, Hackett has hit out at Van Dijk for the use of the elbow as a “weapon”, which he feels was a particularly dangerous move against the Fulham man.
Liverpool captain slammed amid ongoing issues
Speaking ahead of that match at Craven Cottage, Hackett had described Van Dijk as a “serial offender” with fouls that are unpunished.
Discussing a number of those examples in the aftermath of that game, the former referee highlighted the Liverpool captain’s elbow on Berge as a concerning example, as he told Football Insider: “We now go to another incident involving Van Dijk, with Berge. Van Dijk swings his forearm at Sander Berge, deliberately uses his elbow, it’s an illegal use of the elbow.
“The elbow when it’s used as a weapon is very dangerous to players and on this occasion it wasn’t spotted by VAR, neither the referee, and Virgil van Dijk got away with what should have been a clear red card.”
After analysing several other historic incidents where he felt the Dutchman avoided being shown a card, Hackett would then ultimately go on to conclude:
“What we see in this review is a series of incidents where the Liverpool captain, is frankly getting away with sanctions that should be awarded by the match referee.”
Liverpool are still looking to secure a new contract for Van Dijk, with his current deal due to expire at the end of the season.