Former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has strongly disagreed with the decision to send off Virgil van Dijk for a tackle on Alexander Isak.
The red card came during Newcastle United's 2-1 loss against Liverpool at St. James' Park.
Away from the result, it was referee John Brookes' decision that dominated the post-match conversation. Brookes decided to send off Liverpool club captain Virgil van Dijk for a last-ditch tackle on Newcastle's Alexander Isak.
The debate in the Sky Sports studio between Jamie Carragher and Shay Given was on the decision itself, with Carragher arguing the validity of the referees' decision.Carragher argued that the referee couldn't have known whether it was a clear goal-scoring opportunity for Isak.
He said: "Virgil van Dijk does a lot wrong here. He’s lazy initially in terms of not getting across, the decision to make a challenge is ill-advised - but I still don’t believe that’s a red card. I don’t think there’s enough there. How do you know that’s a goalscoring opportunity?"
Former Manchester City goalkeeper Given responded to Carragher's claims and said:"I disagree, I think it’s the right decision. It’s a red card because Isak is a centre forward and he’s trying to let the ball run across him and he’s through one-on-one with Alisson and he’s denied a goalscoring opportunity."Carragher did, however, admit that Van Dijk's tackle was 'lazy' and said:"I think he’s lazy, he should get over earlier, he should not really make the challenge but that is not a red card."
While it was a red card, Van Dijk is likely to miss just one game due to suspension since his foul on Isak could not be classified as violent conduct.
The Red host in-form Aston Villa next at Anfield and their captain will most likely be a huge miss.
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