The Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has been banned for an extra match and fined £100,000 after admitting that he used abusive and insulting words towards the referee John Brooks after his red card against Newcastle United.
The punishment was handed out by an independent regulatory commission and means he will miss the game away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 16. It comes in addition to the one-game suspension the centre back has already served.
Van Dijk was sent off for a foul on Alexander Isak in the 29th minute of Liverpool’s 2-1 win at St James’ Park last month.
The defender gestured at the Newcastle forward to get up before pointing in the face of the match official and appearing to use foul language when mouthing “f***ing joke”.
The Holland international then left the pitch slowly and directed his anger at the fourth official, Craig Pawson, before heading down the tunnel.
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Van Dijk made representation to the commission, but a statement from the FA, which brought the charge, said he admitted that he had acted “in an improper manner and used abusive and insulting words”.
The written reasons surrounding the case will be published in due course.
The sanction comes amid a clampdown on player behaviour, which was implemented at the start of the season by the English football authorities. One key plank focused on how “captains are expected to take responsibility for their team-mates, encouraging them to play fairly and show respect towards the match officials and their decisions”.
However, the FA will now be under pressure to show that Van Dijk is not being made an example of and to ensure that any player who uses abusive and insulting words towards a match official is dealt with similarly.
Van Dijk was suspended for the win over Aston Villa and will now also be missing for the visit to Molineux when the Premier League resumes after the international break.
The Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp, has been without Ibrahima Konaté due to an injury, which led to his withdrawal from the France squad, but saw Joe Gomez impress alongside Joël Matip in the victory over Villa.
However, with the defender Trent Alexander-Arnold also set to be missing against Wolves due to a hamstring injury, Gomez could be pressed into action at right back.
