Virgil van Dijk is ‘happy’ to put his FA punishment behind him but has made it clear that he wants his £100,000 fine to go ‘to the right people’.
The Liverpool and Netherlands skipper was handed a one game ban and ordered to pay the fine after ripping into referee John Brooks following his red card at St. James’ Park last month.
The 32-year-old, who has already insisted he ‘accepts’ the FA’s decision, will now miss the Reds’ clash with Molineux on Saturday but had a message for the governing body.
“It has been a hard and expensive lesson,” Van Dijk told the media (as quoted by This Is Anfield). “I can’t really say more about it. I have accepted it and I am happy that there is an end to it.
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“I have been punished for it and I don’t think I have been set as an example. Hopefully the money goes to the right people. A good cause is always better.”
Our No. 4’s fine is the third-highest in Premier League history after John Terry (£220,00 for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand) and Roy Keane (£150,000 for admitting to purposely injuring Alf-Inge Haaland).
Van Dijk’s actions can’t be placed anywhere near those two incidents in regards to severity but the FA are clearly eager to put their foot down.
We’re not saying that the former Southampton man should’ve escaped punishment but when you consider, for example, Bruno Fernandes’ push on the linesman at Anfield last year went unpunished it really does make you question where is the constistency?
Our skipper will be a huge loss at Molineux but let’s hope Joel Matip and Joe Gomez can impress alongside each other once again.
Ep89 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️