[Trending News] Van Dijk 'lucky' to be on the pitch after 'stonewall red card' vs Tottenham

Virgil van Dijk was “lucky” to remain on the pitch – against Tottenham – after he appeared to throw an elbow in the direction of Richarlison

Virgil van Dijk was “lucky” to remain on the pitch on Thursday evening according to football fans.

Liverpool were trailing to Tottenham Hotspur on aggregate, when they welcomed Spurs to the banks of the River Mersey, in their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg. And Van Dijk was keen to leave an early challenge on ex-Everton man Richarlison.

The Dutchman clattered into Spurs’ striker, appearing to leave an elbow in on Richarlison. And football fans were left fuming on social media – questioning how he got away with a “stonewall red card”.

“If a player swing a punch at another player and misses, it’s still a red card. Why? When Van Dijk swings an elbow and misses and VAR checks it, is it not a red,” one fan fumed.

“How does Van Dijk get away with red card challenges every week bro,” a second posted. While a third shared: “It would have ruined the game but can’t say Van Dijk wasn’t using intent there…”

And another added: “Van Dijk gets away with an 85% red card challenge in EVERY game. On balance of probability you think you’d get one going your way…”

Ahead of the game, Van Dijk appeared to launch a cheeky dig at Arsenal in his programme notes.

The Gunners were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle, a few days after thrashing City 5-1 on Sunday, with Gunners stars making digs towards Haaland after the game, after he told them to ‘stay humble’ in the reverse fixture.

Van Dijk said: “As I have said many times before, this game is all about consistency, about showing up every day, every week.

“If you do that, and if you continue to work hard and stay calm and humble, and treat every opponent with the utmost respect, then you can be successful.”