Virgil van Dijk has claimed referee Stuart Attwell made a 'mistake' not sending off Lucas Bergvall during Liverpool's 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.
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Referee Attwell makes mistake in Liverpool lossBergvall scores winner after not being sent offVan Dijk and Slot criticise refereeing decisionFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Liverpool were handed a shock loss at the hands of Tottenham in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final in north London after Lucas Bergvall scored an 86th-minute winner. However, the 18-year-old lunged in on Kostas Tsimikas just before the goal and was not sent off by referee Attwell. While the Liverpool left-back was off the field, Bergvall scored on the counter, with the incident drawing a lot of criticism from Van Dijk.
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Speaking to Sky Sports, Van Dijk said: "I think it was quite obvious that it was going to be a second yellow.
"Obviously I think it was pretty clear [from what I said to the referee]. It was no coincidence that a minute later he scores the winner.
"He [Attwell] made a mistake in my opinion and I told him that. It was quite obvious I think and everyone on the sidelines knew it was supposed to be a yellow.
"There is a linesman there, a fourth official. There is VAR there and a referee, and he doesn't get a second yellow. I'm not saying this is the reason we lost today, but it was a big moment in the game."
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Liverpool boss Arne Slot also criticised the refereeing decision that will now force the Reds to try go on a huge offensive in the second leg. The Dutchman told Sky Sports: "It was a good goal, let that be clear, Bergvall stayed calm and finished it off.
"But I don’t think you are interested in that but the moment before [the foul]. I think I saw Ange was sitting here and Spurs weren’t happy with a few decisions on Sunday. People say the decisions even up – I don’t believe that. They may have been unlucky and today the decisions went for them. It was unlucky for us because I didn’t think we were ever going to lose this game.
"Very unlucky, far from ideal starting position. They have a good team and have some players coming back for the second leg but if I lose I prefer to lose with a second leg to come."
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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou also provided his thoughts on the Bergvall-Tsimikas incident and told Sky Sports: "Now we've been told consistently in the last few weeks, because I've been screaming about it from the sidelines, because a lot of teams have got away with a lot of fouls with us, without bookings, because the referee plays advantage.
"We've been told consistently that if we play advantage, as long as it's not a cynical foul, then the player does not get cautioned. So that's been relayed to us on a weekly basis. Because we feel like that's been happening."
