Virgil van Dijk criticises referee for “obvious” error – “He should have been sent off”

Virgil van Dijk insisted after Lucas Bergvall’s controversial winner for Tottenham that “the fact is he should have been sent off,” criticising referee Stuart Attwell.

Bergvall scored moments after a reckless foul on Kostas Tsimikas which should have earned the young Spurs midfielder a second yellow card.

Referee Attwell refused to caution the Swede, seemingly in an attempt to even things out after a softer booking earlier in the game, and it ultimately decided the tie.

Liverpool still have 90 minutes to turn it around at Anfield, but they leave north London with a sour taste again – with Van Dijk voicing his frustrations in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.

"He should've been sent off." ?

Virgil van Dijk was not happy that Lucas Bergvall was still on the pitch when he bagged Spurs' winner against Liverpool ? pic.twitter.com/tNMifZmjVO

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 8, 2025

“Listen, I think it was quite obvious that it was going to be a second yellow,” he said.

“Obviously I think it was pretty clear and it was a coincidence that he scored the winner. Listen, it is what it is.

“He made a mistake in my opinion, I told him that, he thinks maybe he didn’t. But it’s quite obvious.

“Everyone on the sideline knew, it was supposed to be a yellow.”

Put to him that Tsimikas was still off the pitch when Bergvall scored, having required treatment, Van Dijk replied: “I have no idea, it was quite quick.

“The fact is he should have been sent off.

“There’s a linesman there, there’s a fourth official, there’s VAR, there’s a referee, and he doesn’t get a second yellow.

“I’m not saying this is the reason we lost, of course, but it was a big moment in the game.”

As Van Dijk alluded, Liverpool were far from their best over the course of the tie, with substitutes Trent Alexander-Arnold and Darwin Nunez arguably going closest to beating debuting goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.

“We played against a team with good attacking players that can make it difficult, keep running,” the captain explained.

“We created good moments, not really clear-cut chances in my opinion but still enough that we could have scored.

“It’s half-time now, I’m looking forward to the game back at Anfield.”