VIRGIL VAN DIJK was accused of “absolute s***housery” after being caught on camera appearing to scuff the penalty spot before Jarrod Bowen fluffed his kick for West Ham at Liverpool.
Fans blasted defender VVD as “unsportsmanlike” for his actions during the delay for a VAR check, with Alisson then saving Bowen’s tame spot-kick.
Many believed Van Dijk sneakily raked the spot with his boot to help Liverpool hold on to a 1-0 lead earned through Darwin Nunez’s header.
One observer posted: “Should be a 3-match ban minimum, what is that sort of thing teaching the kids? But the @fa will ignore it whilst bumping out their fair play campaigns.”
Some armchair viewers claimed VVD’s discreet dig made no difference to Bowen’s poor penalty – which was slotted waist-high to Alisson’s right.
But the Dutchman still came under fire – even controversially dubbed a “cheat” by a few.
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One said: “He does it all the time idk how nobody has caught on.”
Many fans, however, insisted teams only complain about dark arts when they are on the receiving end.
One supporter tweeted: “You’d love it if a West Ham player did that and the other team missed a penalty.”
Others argued Van Dijk hadn’t actually roughed up the spot as he only skimmed it with a brief touch.
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Those views included: “He literally stepped on it that’s all, the pitch is solid, a heel is gonna do nothing.”
And many fans pointed out Bowen’s spot-kick looked predictable – and was probably not affected by VVD’s intevention.
Posts included “Didn’t change anything” and: “Lol.. Watching the replay front on of Bowen’s pen a keeper in u12s would have guessed which way. A gold plated spot wouldn’t have helped Bowen.”
Another blamed the refs, saying: “Not that it really made any difference but these are things VAR should go back on.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
