Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool were denied a clear penalty in their defeat to Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday, appearing incredulous at suggestions that the VAR missed the incident.
Arsenal won 1-0 at Anfield to secure a big three points and go clear at the top of the Premier League table on Sunday, but the game wasn’t without controversy.
From a Liverpool perspective, the biggest frustration surrounded a shirt pull by Jurrien Timber on Alexander Isak. Given the incident was inside the penalty area, any infringement spotted by the officials could have been pivotal for the contest.
But the shirt pull was missed by the referee, and it didn’t seem to be reviewed by VAR. Virgil van Dijk was certainly frustrated about that fact after the game.
“I think it was also a clear penalty,” van Dijk told Sky Sports. “I’ve seen it back, and I’ve seen it being given as well on other occasions, but today it wasn’t meant to be.
“[VAR] doesn’t notice it? We have 50 cameras, even more. Why does [Isak] have to complain when there are so many cameras?
“Everyone’s seen it. In the end, obviously, it wasn’t given and we lose the game, unfortunately. So well done to Arsenal.”
It’s worth mentioning that the shirt pull wasn’t the only big decision in the game. Liverpool’s Trey Nyoni made two bad fouls in the early stages of the match, both of which could easily have resulted in yellow cards, if not red cards. Instead, he wasn’t even booked once.
Bradley Barcola was fortunate that his clear dissent towards the referee when being shown a yellow card wasn’t punished with an immediate second yellow.
Liverpool fans also felt aggrieved that Noni Madueke wasn’t sent off for a ‘headbutt’ late in the game, but that one was reviewed by VAR, with the official remarking: “It’s not forceful, not violent, not brutal.”
In the end, the refereeing decisions probably balanced out, and Arsenal deserved the win given that context.
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