Van Dijk admits he was puzzled why Gross was not sent off during Liverpool draw
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has admitted his surprise after Pascal Gross avoided a red card in their draw at Brighton despite clumsily gifting away a penalty.
Midfielder Gross was not booked after hauling down Dominik Szoboszlai inside the box, with Mohamed Salah stepping up to convert and hand the visitors the lead.
It is believed Gross controversially evaded punishment because VAR officials did not view the opening for Szoboszlai as a 'clear goalscoring opportunity'.
The call ultimately proved costly with Seagulls captain Lewis Dunk forcing a share of the spoils with a late equaliser, leaving Liverpool ruing yet more divisive officiating.
'On the pitch you are thinking about this and you have to be careful for asking if was going to get sent off,' Van Dijk told Sky Sports post-match.
'I was curious for the reason why he didn't get a booking. We win the penalty, we score the penalty and the ref didn't give a yellow or a red. We have to accept it.'
Gross was guilty of holding on to Szoboszlai's shirt after a mix-up at the back, with a poor pass from goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen snatched up by the high press.
But referee Anthony Taylor did not brandish a card and VAR Chris Kavanagh opted not to advise the official to take a look at the incident on his pitchside monitor.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was reluctant to criticise the decision, saying: 'I didn't even realise at the time to be honest. When it was a penalty, I didn't think about a red.
'But I've heard now it was about whether it was a goal-scoring opportunity. Can I ask the question here? Do you think it was a goal-scoring opportunity? Hands up! I haven't seen it back yet. Oh, a few hands up!
'What can I say about that? I'm over it. I'm too old for these kind of things.
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