First, it is important to say that abuse is not tolerated in any way and should have no place in the game.
Van Dijk was visibly upset and unhappy with referee John Brooks’ decision to show him a red card for a challenge on Newcastle’s Alexander Isak.
The captain could be seen telling Brooks his decision was a “joke” before telling fourth official Craig Pawson “not to touch me” as they tried to move him towards the tunnel.
The tackle itself triggered a one-match ban after denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity, but the FA has since charged the Dutchman with breaching FA Rule E3.1. -The defender allegedly behaved inappropriately and/or used insulting and/or insulting words towards the referee, an FA spokesman said.
The charge is likely to extend Van Dijk’s ban and in a way it has opened a can of worms.
As mentioned above, Van Dijk was wrong to abuse the officials and his reaction was rightly deleted.
But it is important to ask where is the continuity?
Players and managers are asked to present themselves near perfection on and off the field, but cannot ask questions of officials or face consequences.
Whether it’s a suspension or a large fine, it often seems like more than a referee has to deal with when making a decision that costs a team a chance to win or get a point.
All this can make the difference between staying in the league, European football or winning the title – as we know, the margin of error can only be goal difference.
In Van Dijk’s mind, he was adamant it wasn’t a red card offence, and having seen one of his team-mates sent off just a week ago and his suspension subsequently overturned, he understandably had questions.
History repeats itself in his mind and after three rounds it doesn’t look like he has any confidence in the decisions of Premier League officials.
Many rightly have no problem with punishing offensive language, but due to ever-changing rules and thresholds, one thing is punished one week and not the next.
Human error can be tolerated in fast-paced sports, but the addition of VAR technology – managed by the same on-field referees – aims to help.
We have seen that this is not the case, and former referee Mike Dean has already admitted that he never examined Anthony Taylor because he was a defender, even though PGMOL claimed that he could not have been.
Unfortunately, Van Dijk is not the first player to abuse officials, and he won’t be the last, but how many times has the same accusation been made against other players in the league?
There were many instances that fans could point to, but nothing was done about it, and it all comes back to continuity.
Consistency in enforcing the rules, making decisions and punishing – not just picking and choosing when to throw the book.
No one wants to argue about the referees after every game and point out mistakes, but this is the current state of the game and we don’t see an end to it at this point.
Individually, Van Dijk’s penalty may be considered fair, but how many more times this season will we see the same response?
The fact that there is little faith that others won’t be punished for it is a testament to where the league’s standards are at the moment.
After all, PGMOL can’t have it both ways. Referees are a protected species and when they make a mistake they are not held to the same standards as players and managers.
An apology later does not make up for a wrong decision, and any outward response to their calls is almost immediately stifled.
An organization must be able to listen and understand the concerns of the people it controls, not to close doors or turn on the music in order not to hear existing frustrations.
The Newcastle game was a perfect example of obvious fouls (Anthony Gordon on Trent Alexander-Arnold) and the sudden decision not to book those who ask for a card repeatedly *cough Joelinton*.
If the fans are frustrated by the lack of consistency and the choice of penalties depending on the day, you can only imagine what the players are thinking.
All we want is consistency, but will we ever get it?
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