VIRGIL van Dijk did not accept he deserved a red card at Newcastle – because he had got away with a similar tackle a week earlier.
Liverpool skipper van Dijk will serve his extra one-match ban for his reaction after being dismissed for bringing down Toon striker Alexander Isak by missing the match with Wolves on Saturday.
And the full written reasons of the FA commission where Dutch defender van Dijk admitted his misconduct charge – also leading to a £100,000 fine – show the Liverpool skipper felt he was the victim of inconsistent officiating.
But van Dijk WOULD have been hit with a second extra game and additional £50,000 were it not for his clean disciplinary record.
While there was dispute between Liverpool and the FA over whether the players was calling referee John Brooks “an absolute f***ing joke” – or merely showing his anger at the decision, the commission deemed that immaterial.