Everton midfielder Amadou Onana has sent a message to the Premier League after being on the receiving end of a nasty challenge from Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk in Saturday’s Merseyside derby.
The score ended 0-0 but the match did not lack excitement or controversy, with Van Dijk’s high challenge on Onana midway through the second half one of the bigger talking points of the game.
The Dutchman caught Onana flush on the shin but was given just a talking-to by referee Anthony Taylor, who was not asked to review the challenge, much to the bemusement of the Everton players and staff.
After the game, he took to Instagram to post a picture of Van Dijk’s challenge, with the caption: “Imma leave it here… VAR.”
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Manager Frank Lampard also could not hide his frustration towards the decision after the game.
When asked if he felt Van Dijk’s challenge was high, Lampard said: “Absolutely. I’ve heard a lot this week insinuating my players were time wasting at the game at Leeds.
“There were some things said last season that were negative about my players and decisions we got the wrong end of. I love Virgil van Dijk. As a player he’s fantastic, sometimes you mis-time tackles and they are bad. If you look at the moment he connects with Amadou up on his shin and Amadou’s foot is on the ground, then I’m surprised it’s not gone to VAR.
“The referee hasn’t gone to look at it and hasn’t had the chance to make the correct decision. For me, it was a red card and of course that changes the face of the last 20 minutes or so.
“I just feel the referee got that one wrong.”