“Virgil van Dijk Blasts Referee in Explosive Interview After Liverpool’s Thrilling 2-2 Draw with Fulham”
“Virgil van Dijk Unleashes Fiery Interview on Referee After Liverpool’s Thrilling 2-2 Draw with Fulham”
Virgil van Dijk made explosive remarks about the referee following Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Fulham.
Virgil van Dijk made explosive remarks about the referee in a bombshell interview following Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Fulham.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Liverpool fought back to secure a point at Anfield in a thrilling match full of controversy. Issa Diop escaped a red card for a late challenge, and Andreas Pereira gave Fulham the lead just 11 minutes into the game. The Reds’ hopes were further dented when Andy Robertson was sent off for a foul on Harry Wilson, who was through on goal.
Cody Gakpo leveled the score early in the second half, but Liverpool were denied a penalty after VAR reviewed an incident in which Kenny Tete collided with Joe Gomez in the box while attempting to block a shot.
Fulham regained the lead when Rodrigo Munoz came off the bench to score from a second precise cross by Antonee Robinson. However, Diogo Jota, making his return, salvaged a point for Liverpool with an equaliser just four minutes before the final whistle.
Liverpool captain Van Dijk shared his thoughts on the draw in a post-match interview, but took aim at referee Tony Harrington, accusing him of being “nervous” and unable to “properly communicate” with the players.
“I spoke to Fulham’s players, and we all felt the referee was nervous,” Van Dijk said, according to the Daily Mail.
“He couldn’t properly communicate with Robertson, I felt.
“We can’t blame the referee. It shouldn’t be a major issue because he’s not the reason we dropped points.
“It is what it is. We take the point, recover quickly, and be ready for the game on Wednesday.”
The draw leaves Liverpool five points clear at the top of the Premier League table, although Chelsea could reduce the gap to two points with a victory over Brentford on Sunday.
Despite being a man down for much of the match, Liverpool created numerous chances in the second half and did enough to deserve a win.
Van Dijk praised his team’s fighting spirit, saying: “A great comeback is very positive. It’s disappointing to be down to 10 men, but we showed fight and kept trying to create chances. It could have been more, but we take the point and move on.”
“It was always going to be tough against them. We saw it last year and last week against Arsenal. We had to turn it around and keep fighting. We tried.”
Liverpool are back in action on Wednesday, as they travel to Southampton for a Carabao Cup quarter-final. The Reds are the defending champions, having defeated Chelsea in last year’s final under Jurgen Klopp.