Pickford's harsh challenge on Van Dijk to be reviewed

Ancelotti has apologised for the actions of his goalkeeper saying, "sometimes in football, it can happen."

Pickford's harsh challenge on Van Dijk to be reviewed
Pickford scissor's Van Dijk

Jordan Pickford’s reckless challenge on Virgil van Dijk in the Merseyside derby will be reviewed by referees during their annual summit, the Daily Mail reports.

The Netherlands captain is not expected on the pitch anytime soon as he focuses on his rehabilitation after he damaged his ACL and was forced off in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park last Saturday, with the Everton goalkeeper avoiding a card and a not being retrospectively punished.

The VAR official, David Coote has been widely criticized for his actions by stakeholders of the game for not preserving the integrity of football and the dignity of players. He has been dropped from refereeing and VAR duties for the Matchweek 6 fixtures.

The manager of Everton, Carlo Ancelotti in his pre-match ahead of his travel to the Saint Mary’s Stadium showed remorse for the action of his shot-stopper and apologized to the defender and the club in general.

“To be clear, we are really sorry for the injury of Virgil van Dijk.

“Every one of us hopes he can recover soon and well.

READ ALSO:

Bielsa expects his attackers to be dangerous against Aston Villa

“There was this contact with Jordan Pickford: it was mistimed contact.

“But the fact the Premier League is so fast, it is not so difficult to arrive a little bit later.

“Jordan arrived a little bit later but his intention was to try to reach the ball.

“It was not to hurt Virgil van Dijk.

“To say it was premeditated, and this and that, in my opinion, is too much.

“Virgil van Dijk knows this.

“Jordan is really sad, really disappointed [that Van Dijk is injured].

“It was a strong contact, maybe mistimed, but sometimes in football, it can happen.”

In the officials’ yearly meetings to investigate decisions which have been made throughout the season, particularly those which caused chaos, the Van Dijk-Pickford case will be one of the incidents to be reviewed.