Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk claimed that referee Tony Harrington was ‘nervous’ during the Reds’ dramatic 2-2 draw with Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday
Fulham boss Marco Silva snapped back at a reporter’s question following their controversial 2-2 draw with 10-man Liverpool.
The visitors took an early lead at Anfield through Andreas Pereira, who was fortunate to escape a red cardjust a few minutes prior. Team-mate Issa Diop also ran the risk of getting sent off but it was Liverpool’s Andy Robertson who was shown the only red card of the game after bringing down Harry Wilson.
Liverpool got themselves level just after half-time through Cody Gakpo but Rodrigo Muniz restored Fulham’s lead late on. Diogo Jota then came off the bench to score an 86th-minute equaliser and rescue a draw. Post-match, Reds captain Virgil van Dijkmade the claim that referee Tony Harrington was ‘nervous’ throughout the dramatic encounter.
During an interview with Premier League Productions, Fulham boss Silva was asked about the challenges from Pereira and Diop – and he wasn’t happy. “And the fouls from Liverpool, they are not close to red cards, no?” the Portuguese replied.
“I didn’t see these moments, but you have all of them. If I go inside, I can probably give you some more 50/50 decisions from the referee, but you have two [tackles from Diop and Pereira]. If you go through the whole game, you are going to see 50/50s against them, for sure.
“I want to talk about the game, but if you are asking me about two 50/50 moments, we are going to be here all afternoon. It’s better to talk about the game. It’s tough to play at Anfield and I think our guys did really well.
“The first 20 minutes [was played] at a very good level, 11 versus 11. The red card [to Robertson] had an impact on the game and Liverpool with their quality and bravery reacted really strong.
Andreas Pereira put Fulham in the lead after avoiding a red card ( Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
“Liverpool can complain about the red card, since it’s a foul [by Robertson], it should be a red card. I can complain about the first goal that they scored because the foul on Kenny [Tete].”
Van Dijk’s comments also raised eyebrows, as the Liverpool defender told Sky Sports: “I had conversations with the players of Fulham and we felt like the referee was nervous. He couldn’t properly communicate with Robertson I felt. We can’t put the blame on the referee.
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