VIRGIL VAN DIJK was accused of “absolute s***housery”; and labelled a ‘”;scumbag”; for scuffing the penalty spot as Jarrod Bowen fluffed his kick for West Ham at Liverpool.
Fans blasted defender VVD as “unsportsmanlike”; after Alisson saved Bowen‘s tame spot-kick.
Many believed Van Dijk sneakily raked the spot with his boot as Liverpool battled to hold onto a 1-0 lead earned through Darwin Nunez’s header.
One observer posted: “Should be a 3-match ban minimum, what is that sort of thing teaching the kids? But the @fa will ignore it whilst bumping out their fair play campaigns.”;
Some armchair viewers claimed VVD’s discreet dig made no difference to Bowen’s poor penalty – a keeper-friendly effort slotted waist-high to Alisson’s right.
But the Dutchman still came under fire – dubbed a “cheat”; by a few.
One said: “He does it all the time idk how nobody has caught on.”;
Many fans, however, insisted it’s only the team on the end of such dark arts who complain.
One supporter tweeted: “You’d love it if a West Ham player did that and the other team missed a penalty.”;
Others argued Van Dijk hadn’t actually roughed up the spot as he only skimmed it with a brief touch.
Those views included: “He literally stepped on it that’s all, the pitch is solid, a heel is gonna do nothing.”;
And many fans pointed out Bowen’s spot-kick looked predictable – and was probably not affected by VVD’s intevention.
These posts typified that verdict: “Didn’t change anything”; and: “Lol.. Watching the replay front on of Bowen’s pen a keeper in u12s would have guessed which way. A gold plated spot wouldn’t have helped Bowen.”;
But this opinion spoke for many in the middle in the middle of the debate: Not that it really made any difference but these are things VAR should go back on.”;
