Overview
- Referee John Brooks upgraded an initial yellow to a straight red after a VAR review for studs on Van Dijk’s calf, and Liverpool won 2-1 with Spurs later reduced to nine men after Cristian Romero’s second yellow.
- The suspension rules Simons out of Tottenham’s trips to Crystal Palace and Brentford and a home game against Sunderland.
- Van Dijk confirmed a private post‑match conversation with Simons and said the foul lacked malice, while the Spurs midfielder accepted responsibility in a social media apology.
- Former referees and pundits split on the call: ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett said it was an obvious straight red and should have been given without VAR, while Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer argued a yellow would have sufficed; Jamie Carragher said it is hard to argue against red but expressed some sympathy for Simons.
- Liverpool are awaiting official updates on Alexander Isak after he appeared to be hurt in a collision with Micky van de Ven, with some analysts suggesting the defender’s challenge merited red and ex-ref Dermot Gallagher disagreeing.