Van Dijk left furious by red card decision

One of the highlights of the Netherlands’ draw with Hungary in their Friday’s Nations League fixture was Virgil van Dijk getting sent off. The Dutch captain received two yellow cards in three minutes in the second half of the tie. The Liverpool skipper has expressed his anger with the first yellow card decision which was for dissent. The defender had protested to the referee after his teammate Donyell Malen was brought down as he moved towards the Hungarian goal when the Dutch were still one-nil down. He received a yellow card in response from the referee and three minutes later was booked the second time for a foul.

Expressing his frustration about the first yellow card, he said, “[The red card] is a bummer, should not have happened. But I’m especially angry about the first. They say the captain is the only one who can talk to the referee. I walk up to him. Up tempo, but not in a nasty way, not at all. Very respectful. Because I felt it was a breakaway player, he did not go for the ball at all. If even the captain can not say anything … then it gets difficult.”

Van Dijk’s frustration was shared by the Dutch national team coach Ronald Koeman. He said, “That moment was frustrating. I don’t understand it. I think we agreed that a captain can protest to a referee. That foul [on Malen] was good for a red card. There was no intention at all to play the ball. That Virgil then takes that second card is not convenient. He knows that himself.”
The Dutch are set to face Germany next on Monday the battle for the top spot on the Nations League Group A3 table. The Germans are currently top of the standings with seven points from three games while the Netherlands trail behind with five points. It took a Denzel Dumfries goal for Koeman’s men to equalize after going behind in the first half of the tie at Budapest. The Dutch fought on after their captain was sent off, getting their equalizer with a few minutes left on the clock.