Liverpool star Gini Wijnaldum is the latest Liverpool player to backlash Jordan Pickford for his ‘completely stupid’ tackle on Van Dijk, criticizing the Everton goalkeeper and team for their overly-aggressive approach throughout the derby.

Virgil van Dijk will undergo surgery after damaging his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) following a rush tackle on the defender by the Three Lions goalkeeper. The defender is not expected anytime soon, a big blow to the Reds who are in pursuit to defend their Premier League title and have been regarded as one of the favourites to win the Champions League trophy.

At a pre-match in Liverpool’s game with Ajax, the Dutchman slammed their rivals and indicated of putting similar reckless displays in derby matches. He expressed disappointment in the FA and Premier League’s disciplinary conduct towards Everton deeming it as ‘unacceptable’ in football.

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“Of course we are upset,” said Wijnaldum. “The way Pickford went in was completely stupid in my opinion.

“I don’t believe he wanted to injure Virgil but the way he made the tackle he didn’t care about what happened after the tackle. It’s happened a lot in games against Everton.

“Accidents can always happen in football. You can be unlucky and injure someone but the way they were doing it was completely unacceptable. It makes it even harder when they don’t get punished, in this case Pickford.”

Fellow Premier League player, Troy Deeney has also enquired on why the VAR in charge of the Merseyside derby failed to take action for Jordan Pickford’s horror challenge on Van Dijk, which has left the Liverpool star facing many months on the sidelines.

“It just seems like referees are not accountable for what they do,” he told talkSPORTS.

“Admit you’ve got it wrong & no one can say anything.”