Virgil van Dijk: Hackett reacts to controversial Newcastle vs Liverpool incident
Virgil van Dijk was rightly not sent off for his challenge on Anthony Gordon as Liverpool drew 3-3 with Newcastle, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL Chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the centre-back did not endanger his opponent during a coming together at St. James’ Park.
It was a controversial meeting between the two sides on Wednesday night (4 December), with Reds manager Arne Slot under scrutiny for entering the referee’s room at half-time.
Hackett has also called for a law change after Newcastle were left frustrated after referee Andy Madley blew for full-time seconds after the minimum five minutes of stoppage time were completed, while they were on the counter-attack.
However, he does not believe that Liverpool should also have been left with the disadvantage of having to play much of the game with ten men.
Liverpool should not have played with ten men at Newcastle: Hackett
The moment of contention involving Van Dijk came in the first-half of the match at St James’, when the Dutchman hit Gordon with his shoulder, after the two came together inside his own penalty area.
VAR checked the incident, and not believing it to be red card offence, did not instruct Andy Madley to check it on the pitchside monitor.
Due to the fact it was checked by VAR, the Liverpool captain cannot now be retrospectively banned for the challenge by the FA (Daily Mirror).
Hackett believes that is the correct outcome, as he told Football Insider: “Unlike the referee, who only has one opportunity to view this incident, I have viewed the coming together between Virgil van Dijk and Gordon on several occasions.
“Football is a contact sport and in viewing this clash I am satisfied that this is certainly not a red card offence.
“I would suggest that Van Dijk, at worst, might be guilty of unfair impeding or attempting to block his opponent. Gordon appeared however to be unaware of Van Dijk and ran into him. Therefore my conclusion is to support the decision of the match officials by stating that no offence has taken place.
“It is certainly not a challenge that gets anywhere near a red card for Serious Foul Play.
The challenge does not endanger the safety of his opponent.
“Evident from that the VAR check of the incident resulted in them been satisfied that there was not an offence and allowed play to continue. I agree.”
Following that draw with Newcastle, Liverpool currently sit seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Avoiding a ban for their captain as a result of this incident, will therefore be a big relief for those at Anfield.
In other news, Andy Robertson reacts to Curtis Jones’ frustrations.
For more Liverpool news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.