MARK HALSEY: Van Dijk should get FOUR-MATCH ban for red card and X-rated rant – he’s setting wrong example as captain
FOOTBALL must not tolerate any more abuse of match officials.
So the Football Association has to clamp down and punish Virgil Van Dijk for his unacceptable behaviour at Newcastle on Sunday.
The new Liverpool captain fell well below the standards set by one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League.
I know Van Dijk’s only been captain for three games since Jordan Henderson moved to Saudi Arabia but if I was Jurgen Klopp I would already be thinking, ‘Is Virgil setting the right example?”
Van Dijk’s abusive actions at St James’ Park also have an impact on the wider footballing world.
The Dutch defender was correctly sent off by referee John Brooks for the denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity on Alexander Isak.
Van Dijk refused to accept the decision and took a total of two minutes 28 seconds to get down the tunnel from the moment he was dismissed.
That attitude and conduct is simply not good enough from the new Anfield skipper.
The Dutchman let himself down and his verbal outburst towards Brooks and then fourth official Craig Pawson was not befitting of his role.
Brooks made the right call but the Liverpool defender still branded the decision a ‘f****** joke’.
Van Dijk swore, gestured and constantly questioned Brooks following the red card.
VAR confirmed that Brooks was spot on but that still wasn’t good enough for the centre-back. What on earth did he think was going to change?
It took another 63 seconds for Van Dijk to leave the field of play and, even when he managed that, he got involved in a confrontation with Pawson on the touchline.
He has sent a poor message to his team-mates and fans, including children, watching the Premier League around the world.
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It was a bad image. And no wonder we have so many problems with officials trying to manage games at grassroots level.
I’ve criticised Jurgen Klopp for his abusive behaviour towards officials in the past.
But, on this occasion, fair play to the Liverpool manager because he intervened as a peacemaker between Van Dijk and Pawson before pushing his own player towards the steps leading to the tunnel.
Van Dijk will rightly receive a one-match ban for the straight red card but I believe his suspension should be increased.
Of course, this will depend on Brooks’ official report but the abusive and insulting language used by the new Reds leader could be worthy of another RED CARD and result in an additional three-match ban.
That would rule out Van Dijk for four matches in total – a fitting punishment for his poor conduct.
Refs chief Howard Webb went around all of the clubs during the close season in a bid to improve the standards of behaviour towards officials.
But clearly some players, including Van Dijk, didn’t bother to listen.
Van Dijk’s dismissal was the first major test of the new FA rules in their quest to stamp out abuse by players and managers towards officials this season.
And if we go off this evidence then it isn’t working.
We need to clean up the game and improve its image and the onus is on the players and clubs to achieve that.
We don’t want to see further ugly incidents such as Aleksandar Mitrovic pushing Chris Kavanagh like we did at Old Trafford last term.
But, while Van Dijk did not physically touch any official, his abusive attitude and behaviour wasn’t much different so the authorities must lay down the law to make their campaign work.
It’s not all players though.
I point to another Prem captain – Nottingham Forest’s Joe Worrall – who was also sent off at Manchester United on Saturday.
Worrall was dismissed by ref Stuart Attwell and did not show any dissent.
He waited for VAR Rob Jones to confirm the call and then the defender respectfully walked off the Old Trafford pitch.
This is what we want to see in the game – players respecting the officials’ decision.
I actually believe Worrall had a bigger cause for complaint than Van Dijk for his call to be overturned because there were elements of doubt over his red card.
But Worrall set the right example – one that Van Dijk should learn from.