Virgil van Dijk appears to ask referee Chris Kavanagh if he has been DRINKING

Virgil van Dijk shockingly reacted to a decision from referee Chris Kavanagh by asking 'if he had been drinking' during Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Arsenal.

With the game delicately poised at 1-1 in the second half, the Dutch defender complained about a call from Kavanagh over a free-kick given in Arsenal's favour.

Van Dijk was adjudged to have given away a foul, and when the decision went the Gunners way, the defender asked the official if he had been drinking - complete with a gesture to hammer home the point.

Despite the mocking reaction Van Dijk wasn't shown a yellow card for dissent by Kavanagh and his reaction seemed to be ignored.

The Dutchman's response is another example of why Mail Sport has launched a campaign to stop abuse like this aimed at referees.

The Reds have had four bookings this season for dissent, with Fulham currently topping the scale with eleven.

Van Dijk was lucky not to have added to that total with his disappointing way of reacting of the referees decision.

In a lively game at Anfield, there were seven yellow cards shown as both teams looked to take the advantage in the title race - especially with Manchester City away at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Arsenal opened the scoring inside the opening minutes thanks to a Gabriel header that was given by VAR after an offside scare.

Liverpool then thought they should have had a penalty midway through the first half when Martin Odegaard appeared to fall on the ball with his hand inside the Reds box.

However, the incident wasn't spotted by the referee and VAR ruled it wasn't a penalty against the Norwegian.

Mohamed Salah did get Liverpool back into the game before half time, but neither could force a winner in the second period as the game finished all-square.

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