Listen to ref shout ‘GO NOW’ at Van Dijk after red card as VAR audio is released with Liverpool star set for longer ban
VIRGIL Van Dijk ignored orders from referee Jon Brooks to leave the pitch after his Newcastle red card – and that seems set to hand the Liverpool skipper an extra match ban.
Van Dijk’s dismissal by Brook was backed by refs’ chief Howard Webb during the first of this season’s monthly editions of “Match Officials Mic’d Up” to explain and clarify contentious Prem decisions.
The show broadcast, for the first time, the communications between Brooks and VAR Stuart Attwell and the referee’s comments to Van Dijk, after he brought down Toon striker Alexander Isak.
Brook instantly determined a red card offence, explaining “he comes through the man to play the ball” and telling the Liverpool players, firmly, to “move away” while the VAR check was undertaken.
He then told Van Dijk to “wait” for the final decision, adding: “You will need to go immediately if I tell you you’ve got to go.”
As Liverpool continued to try to persuade him to change his mind, Brooks went on: “It’s clearly a foul. Don’t do anything silly after. You will be sent off unless it’s offside.”
Despite then being told “Free-kick. Go. Go. Go now. No offside”, the Liverpool skipper refused to accept the decision until he was reluctantly persuaded to leave the pitch.
That and subsequent comments to officials landed Van Dijk with an FA charge and Webb, speaking to former Liverpool and England striker Michael Owen, confirmed: “It’s a good identity of a foul by John Brook and it has to be a red card.”
Webb also backed ref Anthony Taylor and VAR Jarred Gillett after the Kai Havertz penalty decision against Manchester United on Sunday was overturned.
The audio showed Taylor explaining he believed there had been a trip by Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the Arsenal man, but Gillett swiftly identified there was no contact before the German ran into the defender on his way down.
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During the check, Taylor told both teams “I’ve explained why I think it’s a pen. He will check and if it’s wrong I will change it.”
Webb said: “That was a good use of VAR. The ref thought Wan-Bissaka had tripped him but there was no contact.”
The ref’s chief did, though, aim a pot-shot at United boss Erik ten Hag’s complaints that Alejandro Garnacho’s late strike at the Emirates was wrongly disallowed for offside.
He said: “I was surprised by some of the comments post-game on this. It was a clear offside situation. The technology was used by the calibrated cameras to identify quite rightly that Garnacho was ahead of Gabriel and the goal quite rightly disallowed.”
But while Webb also backed the red card for Burnley’s Anass Zaroury on the opening night of the season against Manchester City and the penalty awarded to the champions at Sheffield United, he admitted the champions’ second goal in the weekend win over Fulham was one of two significant errors that had taken place this term.
Fulham were furious that Nathan Ake’s header stood after it went through the offside Manuel Akanji, with VAR Tony Harrington and his assistant Adam Nunn ruling the Swiss defender had not interfered with Bernd Leno’s view.
Webb, though, conceded: “This should have been disallowed. The VAR and AVAR didn’t think it was clearly impactful but you can see Leno hesitates and waits for contact from Akanji. This was an error.”
The other mistake was one Webb admitted to on the night when he told Wolves boss Gary O’Neill should have had a spot kick when United keeper Andre Onana bulldozed into substitute Sasa Kaladzic.
Webb added: “The VAR over-thought this after going down the road of recommending a review. It was an error and a penalty should have been given.”