Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk did not hold back in his criticism of referee Michael Oliver following the controversial 2-2 draw against Everton at Goodison Park.
The Dutch defender voiced his frustrations in a post-match interview, questioning the officiating and accusing Oliver of losing control of the game.
Virgil van Dijk takes sarcastic dig at Everton
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Van Dijk also aimed a sarcastic dig at Everton, suggesting that the Toffees treat the Merseyside derby as the most important fixture of their season.
“We all know this is their cup final. They will make it as difficult as possible for us.”
The Liverpool skipper also criticised the additional stoppage time, questioning how James Tarkowski’s equaliser in the 98th minute was allowed to stand when only five minutes of stoppage time were initially allocated.
Watch the full interview below:
"We all know this is their cup final."
Virgil van Dijk reacts to Liverpool's draw at Goodison Park ?
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Liverpool vs Everton marred with contentious officiating
Michael Oliver’s refereeing was a major talking point, as several decisions appeared to favor the home side.
Everton’s early goal came after a dubious free-kick, awarded despite what appeared to be no contact between the players. Liverpool’s defense was caught off guard as Beto converted the quickly-taken set-piece to put Everton ahead in the 11th minute.
Liverpool responded swiftly, with Alexis Mac Allister heading in a Mohamed Salah cross just four minutes later to level the score. Salah then put the Reds ahead in the second half with a superb first-time finish.
However, controversy struck late in the game when James Tarkowski’s 98th-minute goal salvaged a point for Everton—three minutes beyond the allocated stoppage time. There appeared to be a foul on Konate in the build-up and the goal was briefly checked by VAR, and the goal was given.
Liverpool hurried to restart, launching a long ball forward, but Michael Oliver blew the full-time whistle immediately.
The final whistle sparked chaos as Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucouré appeared to taunt Liverpool supporters, leading to a furious reaction from Curtis Jones. A heated brawl erupted between both sets of players, forcing Michael Oliver to dish out red cards to both Doucouré and Jones as well as to Liverpool manager Arne Slot.
The draw means Liverpool now hold a seven-point lead over second-placed Arsenal, though a win would have put them in a commanding nine-point advantage.
Liverpool will be without Curtis Jones in the next match while manager Arne Slot will also not be available on the sidelines.
There could potentially be more problems for Liverpool if the FA decides to punish van Dijk for his comments in the post match interview regarding Michael Oliver’s officiating. Whether his comments are punished or not remains to be seen.
Everton. small minded, small club. The equivalent of the reform party of the premier league
why do Liverpool blame everyone else when things do not go their way ? Never their fault..
Appalling interview from a so-called leader and captain. He should be dealt with for bringing the game into disrepute. Instead of criticising Jones for attacking Doucoure he says that Jones was “entitled” to react because the Everton player was provoking our fans. That is so irresponsible and panders to the needs of Liverpool fans instead of facing the reality that Jones was angry at the equalizer, lost his temper and was unprofessional. VVD should be ashamed.
U don’t know anything about football, VVD should be ashamed for defending his team mates, that’s the duty of every captain. If you were to be in his shoes what will you do Mr right? Brian if you don’t know what to say just hold your tongue.
you know nothing about passion do you
Perfect piece of mouth words. U say it right. Almost every team leaders will definitely be on the teams heart and players support.
It is always the case👍
No mention of course that Doucore was racially abused by those fans during the game, a fact being investigated by the police and condemned by BOTH clubs. Also no mention that during the 5 minutes of alotted added time there was time lost due players colliding and given time to recover.
One sided view as always.
ref needs to be published, but pgmol care about themselves and greedy money. I am surprised that if fans and players stop playing football, michael Oliver should be sacked. I can do a better job
I agree with vvd. The ref Michael Oliver is an evton fan. Michael Oliver is coping with the other ref he doesn’t care. I can do a better job at being a ref
even if he in trouble we will win the premier League this season
All tried, it was a tough derby. YWNWA. Forever.