Lampard’s claim that Van Dijk deserved a red card
It was a typical scrappy Merseyside derby, with challenges coming from all directions at rapid speed.
Despite the frequent instances of unfair play, the referee, Anthony Taylor, chose to adopt a more forgiving stance toward the action and work toward keeping the game flow as unimpeded as possible.
Virgil van Dijk was shown a yellow card for his late hit on Amadou Onana had Everton supporters seething with anger.
The Dutchman made the uncharacteristically hasty choice to go into a tackle on Onana when he saw the Everton midfielder charging forward aggressively.
After missing the ball by a hair’s breadth, he found his studs scraping along the shin of his Everton opponent in a collision that appeared to be unpleasant for Onana.
The home fans exploded in anger and demanded that Van Dijk be shown a red card, but Taylor did not give in to the crowd’s demands and instead chose to issue a yellow card warning to the player.
When asked about it after the match, Everton manager Frank Lampard stated that, in his opinion, the play warranted a red card.
“I admire Virgil van Dijk as a player because he is so good. If you look at the instant he connects with Amadou (Onana) on the shin while Amadou’s foot is planted on the ground, I’m amazed it hasn’t been reviewed by VAR and the referee hasn’t made what I believe to be the correct call. Occasionally, mistimed tackles appear or have the potential to look bad.”
“I haven’t been asked about it in the media, it doesn’t matter now, but for me, it was a red card, and of course, that changes the face of the Match’s last 20 minutes,” he said. “It was a red card and of course it alters the face of the last 20 minutes.”
However, after reviewing the challenge, Peter Walton, a former referee for the Premier League who now works as a pundit for BT Sport, explained why Taylor made the correct call.
According to Walton, who was commentating live on BT Sport, the bar for receiving a yellow card in that situation is “any force used against the foot.”
A red card may be issued if there is excessive force used on the shin. However, in this particular instance, Virgil van Dijk’s foot really slipped down the shin and ended up on foot, which is why he was issued a yellow card.
That makes perfect sense, but Van Dijk will almost certainly consider himself a fortunate guy since there’s no question that it was a reckless challenge, regardless of whether or not it was intentional.
