Virgil van Dijk should receive further sanctions — he deserves a red card

Van Dijk's reaction to his warning could lead to further punishment. Photo: GETTY IMAGES/Ian MacNicol

Referee John Brooks was on the ball when he decided to award Virgil Van Dijk a red card for challenging Newcastle striker Alexander Isak.

The Netherlands defender dismissed an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, and Brooks did not hesitate to show a red card. in accordance with the law, despite the fact that Van Dijk was shocked and defended his point of view.

The replays show Van Dijk clearly pulling Isak's back foot away from him in an attempt to retrieve the ball, and despite making contact with the ball, he knocked Isak down before doing so.

War officials checked and confirmed This. Brooks made the right decision, but Van Dijk continued to argue with the referee and showed reluctance to leave the field. TV cameras caught him yelling at Brooks that he thought the decision was a «fucking joke» as he left the field.

Depending on Brooks' post-match report, Van Dijk should be in line for further sanctions.

However, the decision not to send off Trent Alexander-Arnold for a second yellow card showed the impact of Howard Webb's changes. come into play at the very beginning of the season.

Alexander-Arnold seemed surprised when he was punished for wasting his time. Photo: GETTY IMAGES/Robin Jones

With the full support of the game's stakeholders, Webb has provided referees with the opportunity to be more forceful in taking clear and deliberate action that delays the resumption of play.

While this part of the game needs to be brought under control, the crackdown at the start of the season has left referees with little room to exercise common sense. For years, officials have taken a step-by-step approach when dealing with wasted time or actions that delay a restart: first a quiet word, then a public rebuke, before applying a card if the previous two steps didn't work.

After being pushed by Anthony Gordon, Alexander-Arnold throws the ball away, and under the new rules, this is considered a violation requiring a yellow card. This is exactly what Brooks did.

However, soon after, Alexander-Arnold pulled Gordon back again and ran his hand over the face of the opponent, trying to knock him down, but, surprisingly, Brooks kept his cards. in his pocket. It looked like a sign of weakness that the previous yellow card forced him to show.

Klopp on yellow and red cards for Liverpool against Newcastle United

In the 29 games before this, we saw 135 yellow cards. this season at 4.65 per game — more than the usual three per game last season — with nine red cards before Van Dijk was sent off.

That's clear, unless the players come to the fore with Because of these new rules, many teams will suffer due to the fact that players will be suspended earlier and more often during the season.