Jurgen Klopp intervened by appearing to push Virgil van Dijk down the tunnel after the Liverpool captain was sent off against Newcastle United.
Van Dijk was dismissed for the first time in his Liverpool career after hacking down Aleksandar Isak to deny a clear goalscoring chance.
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The Dutchman was furious with the decision and took a while to leave the pitch. He continued to shout at referee John Brooks, with Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville saying he was ‘abusing’ the official.
Van Dijk eventually walked towards the touchline and continued to shout at the ref, appearing to swear in his face. Liverpool manager Klopp then seemed to intervene to prevent the player from getting into more trouble.
Klopp was seen pushing Van Dijk down the tunnel and away from the scene, where the defender wanted to continue arguing his case to the fourth official. The German coach then continued the protestations with the officials, risking being reprimanded himself.
Van Dijk’s red card came as part of a disappointing first half for Liverpool at St. James’ Park. Trent Alexander-Arnold escaped a sending-off in the first six minutes.
The England defender was booked after three minutes for throwing the ball away after a decision went against him – The right-back then brought down Anthony Gordon just moments later.
Referee Brooks let off a sheepish Alexander-Arnold with just a warning. But it was his mistake that led to Newcastle opening the scoring midway through the first half.
Mohamed Salah’s pass proved too difficult for Alexander-Arnold to control, allowing Gordon to race through on goal. The former Everton winger expertly finished beyond Alisson.
Newcastle then had the opportunity to make it 2-0. Isak collected Gordon’s pass and appeared to be one-versus-one with Alisson, only for Van Dijk to bring down the Swede.
Brooks had no choice but to show a red card to the 32-year-old. Van Dijk will miss Liverpool’s game with Aston Villa next week but his abuse of the referee and fourth official could land him an extended suspension.
Speaking on Sky’s commentary of the game, former Manchester United player Neville said: “He’s now abusing the official. You just need to take your medicine and get off the pitch. We’ve all been there.”
