Arsenal fans were convinced that Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk should have received a red card for his violent conduct during the 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Van Dijk contributed Liverpool’s first equalizer with a strong header off a corner in the 18th minute, after Bukayo Saka’s ninth-minute opener. Later, Mikel Merino and Mohamed Salah added their names to the scoresheet. However, the goals were overshadowed by a controversial moment when Van Dijk was penalized for an off-the-ball foul on Kai Havertz.

In the sixth minute, with the game still 0-0, Van Dijk collected the ball from Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and passed it left to Andy Robertson. Havertz, who had closed in on Van Dijk without attempting a tackle, was then pushed back by Van Dijk, who used his right hand and appeared to follow up by forcefully thrusting his left leg toward the Arsenal player.

Referee Anthony Taylor awarded a free-kick for the incident but did not issue a card to Van Dijk.

Sky Sports analyst Gary Neville criticized Van Dijk’s actions, saying, “He was stupid, Van Dijk. He got into a little tussle and kind of backed into him.” After watching the replay, Neville added, “A slight elbow and then that. Oh yeah, he kicks out at him too. Silly. There was no need for it.”

Many Arsenal fans voiced frustration over what they perceived as lenient officiating by Taylor. One fan took to X (formerly Twitter) to say, “How did Van Dijk get away with that???? Not even a yellow for hitting and kicking someone off the ball????”

Another tweeted, “If an Arsenal player did what Van Dijk just did to Havertz, VAR would have called the ref, and it’d be an instant red card.”

A third Arsenal supporter commented, “That was a red card offense from Van Dijk, but he wasn’t wearing an Arsenal jersey.”