Former Premier League referee Peter Walton has accused match officials of affording Virgil van Dijk preferential treatment this season.
The 33-year-old has been in imperious form over the course of the last few months and remains the cornerstone of a Liverpool defence that has underpinned the club’s push for major honours.
In partnership with Ibrahima Konate, Van Dijk appears to be enjoying a new lease of life as he enters the final months of his current contract.
Walton, however, believes the Reds’ skipper has been fortunate on several occasions to have avoided being given his marching orders.
Van Dijk has used his physicality to unsettle the likes of Kai Havertz, Anthony Gordon, Dango Outtara and Richarlison over the course of the last few months but has escaped disciplinary action.
‘I think Virgil van Dijk has been fortunate this season with some decisions,’ Walton told sports betting site talkSPORT BET.
‘His stature and his playing actions almost go in his favour when it comes to referees giving him the benefit of the doubt, and I think referees have been giving him that on some occasions this season.
‘Someone who isn’t as physically built as Van Dijk may not have had that afforded to them and I think he has been a very fortunate man at times this year.
‘It’s something that the authorities need to look at about when and why you give a player the benefit of the doubt in cases, because I think he’s been a little bit lucky.’
Van Dijk, meanwhile, claimed PGMOL’s top referee Michael Oliver ‘lost control’ of last night’s controversial Merseyside derby.
The visitors were held 2-2 thanks to Everton skipper James Tarkowski’s last-gasp equaliser.
Everton’s Beto opened the scoring in the 11th minute, before Mohamed Salah set up Alexis Mac Allister’s equaliser and then scored his own in the 73rd, putting the league leaders on course for victory.
But Tarkowski’s 98th-minute strike shattered their hopes.
Abdoulaye Doucoure celebrated Tarkowski’s goal in front of the away end, sparking a heated reaction from Liverpool native Curtis Jones, which led to a post-match melee.
Consequently, Doucoure, Jones, Liverpool boss Arne Slot, and assistant Sipke Hulshoff were all shown red cards.
‘We saw how they celebrated the goal, they have all the right to, but I think Doucoure at the end wanted to provoke our fans and Curtis didn’t think it was the right thing to do,’ Van Dijk told TNT Sports.
(Credits: REUTERS)
‘You know what happens when there is a tussle, I think the referee didn’t have the game under control and I said it to him. It is a fact, both teams had to deal with it. We take a point and move on.”
Van Dijk said the draw felt a bit like a loss, having conceded the equaliser in the dying moments.
‘Because it was over extra time and I think the referee had a big part in the game in terms of certain challenges were given as a foul and similar were not,” he added.
‘We all know this is their cup final and they will do everything in their power to try and win against us. This year, you see them scoring at the end and it’s obviously a big boost for them but it’s a blow for us.’
