Virgil van Dijk: Liverpool captain hit with FA charge after red card in Newcastle thriller

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has been hit with a Football Association (FA) charge after his sending off against Newcastle.

The Dutch defender has been charged with allegedly acting in an improper manner and/or using abusive and/or insulting words towards a match official after being dismissed in the first half of Sunday’s dramatic Premier League clash at St James’ Park.

Van Dijk was shown a straight red card by referee John Brooks in the 28th minute of a feisty contest on Tyneside, having been deemed to have denied Newcastle a clear goalscoring opportunity after fouling Swedish striker Alexander Isak just outside the penalty area.

He was then picked up by television cameras criticising the decision using bad language before also appearing to argue with fourth official Craig Pawson on his way to the tunnel.

It capped a disastrous couple of minutes for Liverpool, who had just fallen behind to Anthony Gordon’s opening goal and could easily have seen Trent Alexander-Arnold sent off in the early period of the game.

Van Dijk’s dismissal forced manager Jurgen Klopp to withdraw attacker Luis Diaz in favour of Joe Gomez, but the 10 men of Liverpool weathered the subsequent storm and hung in the game at 1-0 before improving after the interval and pulling off a remarkable 2-1 comeback win - one that Klopp rated as among the best of his managerial career - thanks to a stunning late brace from substitute Darwin Nunez.

Van Dijk has until Friday (September 1) to respond to an alleged breach of FA Rule E3.1. As it stands, the Reds’ defensive talisman is only scheduled to miss one match, against Aston Villa at Anfield on Sunday, but that suspension could be extended if he is punished by the FA for his furious post-red card outburst.

Liverpool are currently without Van Dijk’s usual centre-back partner Ibrahima Konate due to a knock that forced him to miss out against Newcastle, with Joel Matip coming into the starting XI instead.