Virgil van Dijk sued by the FA for his furious reaction to his sending off by John Brooks during Liverpool’s win over Newcastle – after appearing to call the decision a ‘fucking joke’
- Virgil van Dijk has been charged by the FA after he was sent off against Newcastle
- The Reds captain appeared to call the decision at St James’ Park a “f****** joke”.
- Would Mohamed Salah ‘do bad’ to Liverpool by leaving? And what about Man United ‘diving’?: Listen up It all starts Mail Sport’s new podcast
Virgil van Dijk has been charged by the FA after he was sent off in Liverpool’s win over Newcastle on Sunday.
The Reds captain was furious at receiving a red card for his tackle on Newcastle striker Alexander Isak and has now been charged with breaching FA rule E3.1.
Van Dijk appeared to label his departure as a ‘f****** joke’ at the time and now risks further punishment for his response to the incident.
Mail Sport revealed the Dutchman could face further sanctions in the aftermath of Sunday’s Premier League game at St James’ Park and the governing body has now moved to charge Van Dijk.
A statement released by the FA on Tuesday read: Virgil van Dijk has been charged with a breach of FA rule E3.1 following Liverpool’s game against Newcastle United on Sunday, August 27.
Virgil van Dijk (centre) has been charged by the FA after being sent off in Liverpool’s win over Newcastle on Sunday
Van Dijk has until Friday to respond to the FA’s charges for his actions against Newcastle
Your browser does not support iframes.
It is alleged that the defender acted inappropriately and/or used abusive and/or offensive words against a match official after being sent off in the 29th minute.
“Virgil van Dijk has until Friday, September 1 to respond to this complaint.”
Referee John Brooks’ red card initially meant that the Liverpool captain would serve a one-match ban for his foul denying Isak a goal-scoring opportunity.
That could now be upgraded to a longer ban, which would give Reds manager Jurgen Klopp a defensive headache.
The German was seen trying to calm Van Dijk as he left the pitch, while the 32-year-old firmly protested his innocence before leaving proceedings as Liverpool fell behind.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp (centre) tried to calm Van Dijk (right).
Van Dijk (centre left) was furious after being sent off by referee John Brooks (blue top)
Van Dijk also seemed to exchange strong words with fourth official Craig Pawson.
The sending-off was Van Dijk’s first for Liverpool since joining Southampton in 2017 for a then-world record fee of £75 million.
A three match suspension would see him miss out on upcoming games against Aston Villa, Wolves and West Ham.
Trent Alexander-Arnold will captain Liverpool in Van Dijk’s absence, while 20-year-old Jarell Amorin Quansah is a likely replacement at the heart of defence.