Footage Shows Virgil van Dijk Lucky to Avoid VAR Punishment vs Spurs
There was plenty of VAR controversy during Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup but it appears as though one key incident was missed. During the second half, Virgil van Dijk appeared to rake his studs down the back of Dominic Solanke’s calf but avoided a potential red card.
In the end, a single goal from Lucas Bergvall was enough to settle the first-leg of the cup tie. However, the Spurs player was lucky to even still be on the field having committed a clear bookable offence while already on a yellow card.
Speaking after the game, Liverpool captain Van Dijk could not hide his frustration, telling the press: “It was quite obvious, I think, and everyone on the sidelines knows exactly that it was supposed to be a yellow.”
The midfielder went down, unchallenged, within the first 10 minutes of Tottenham Hotspur’s clash with Liverpool.
However, footage from around the 60th minute of the match shows that the Dutch centre-back was perhaps fortunate to also remain on the pitch.
Virgil van Dijk tackle on Solanke (no foul)
byu/SpareAstronomer insoccer
As the replay shows, Solanke clearly had the ball under control and Van Dijk comes in from behind with his studs high, pressing down on the Tottenham forward’s calf. Per FA Law 12, S1 and S2 a player can be sent off for ‘serious foul play’ and ‘violent conduct’.
With Van Dijk clearly not close to the ball and with his studs raking down the back of Solanke’s leg, there could certainly be a case made for a red card. It will serve as a major source of frustration for Spurs fans then that VAR failed to even check the potentially dismissable offence.
Fans online couldn’t believe the Dutchman had got away with the foul. One wrote: “I’m convinced these refs are terrified of him”
Another added: “Gets away with murder. Should have been sent off for a assault on Gordon in December as well.”
A third said: “That is one the FA should look at if he escaped a card during the game. As blatant as they come.”
Finally, one referenced other fouls the Liverpool man avoided punishment for, saying: “Havertz, Gordon, now this. When will Virgil van Dijk be punished for these kinds of dirty actions? Punishments need to start being about the incident, not the individual.”
