Roy Hodgson criticised Virgil van Dijk for his role in Jordan Ayew being sent off in Crystal Palace’s 2-1 defeat by Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.
Ayew was first booked by referee Andy Madley for preventing Van Dijk from taking a quick free-kick, not being stood the required distance of ten yards apart, and collected a second yellow moments later for fouling Harvey Elliott as he looked to spark a counter-attack.
This dismissal proved to be the turning point in the contest, with Liverpool scoring one minute later through Mohamed Salah and Elliott adding a second in stoppage time to complete another comeback for the Reds in a Premier League game.
Hodgson could not hide his frustration at his team’s red card when speaking after the full-time whistle and was critical of Van Dijk for what he believed was a deliberate attempt from the towering defender for Ayew to be punished by the match official.
[Virgil] Van Dijk took the opportunity to get him the first yellow card, which was very disappointing,” the Palace boss told TNT Sports. “The second one I thought was a good challenge, even if it was deemed a foul, it wasn’t a yellow.”
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