The Dutch defender, Van Dijk, denied an obvious goalscoring chance, prompting referee Brooks to swiftly show him a straight red card. Despite Van Dijk’s shock and his attempts to argue his case, the decision was in line with the rules.
Upon reviewing the replays, it is clear that Van Dijk intentionally obstructed Isak’s trailing leg in his pursuit to win the ball. He brought down Isak before making contact with the ball.
VAR officials reviewed the incident and confirmed the correctness of Brooks’s decision, yet Van Dijk persisted in arguing with the referee and showed reluctance to leave the field. As he exited, TV cameras captured him shouting at Brooks, expressing his belief that the decision was a “f*****g joke”.
Depending on Brooks’s report following the match, Van Dijk may face additional disciplinary actions.
However, the decision not to send off Trent Alexander-Arnold for a second yellow card offense highlights the impact of Howard Webb’s changes on the game early in the season.
Webb has empowered referees to take a stricter approach in dealing with deliberate actions that cause delays in restarting play.
While addressing this aspect of the game is necessary, imposing such stringent measures early in the season leaves little room for the application of common sense by referees.
Traditionally, officials have followed a stepped approach when dealing with time-wasting or actions that delay the restart: an initial warning, followed by a public rebuke, then finally issuing a card if the warning and rebuke fail to have the desired effect.
After being pushed by Anthony Gordon, Alexander-Arnold forcefully shoved the ball away, which, under the new rules, warrants a yellow card. This is the action that Brooks took.
Shortly after, Alexander-Arnold again pulled back Gordon and placed his arm across his opponent’s face in an attempt to bring him down. Surprisingly, Brooks chose not to show any cards, which appeared to be a sign of weakness forced by the earlier yellow card.
In the 29 matches prior to this one, there have been 135 yellow cards, averaging 4.65 per game. This is higher than the usual three yellow cards per game seen in recent seasons, with nine red cards issued before Van Dijk’s dismissal.
It is evident that unless players adapt to these new rules, many teams will face more frequent and earlier bans throughout the season.
Keith Hackett is a former Premier League referee
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