Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and PSG chief Luis Campos were involved in a heated exchange in the tunnel during the Champions League clash at the Parc des Princes
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk had a heated exchange with PSG chief Luis Campos in the tunnel at Parc des Princes during the Reds’ victory in Paris.
Half-time tension soared as PSG vented over referee Davide Massa’s decision not to send off Ibrahima Konate, who they believed had fouled Bradley Barcola during an on-pitch encounter. Despite a VAR check, play resumed without penalising Konate, much to PSG’s chagrin.
The scene became more intense when PSG football advisor Campos, linked with a move to Arsenal, berated officials as per Canal Plus footage, exclaiming despite the fact the incident had taken place outside the box: “It’s a red card or a penalty, in every part of the world.”
Amidst the turmoil, Liverpool’s colossus Van Dijk was heard issuing a sharp retort: “Come on, this is not Ligue 1 brother.”
His words didn’t soothe Campos reports the Mirror, who persisted, yelling: “Red card or penalty, in every part of football!”
Football analysts Ally McCoist and Rio Ferdinand on TNT Sports felt Konate was fortunate not to be punished, with former Manchester United star Ferdinand remarking during commentary: “That is a foul. I think it might just be outside the box.
“If that is not a red card I will be amazed. It will be a shame if it does go down to 10 against 11 in that sense because you want the best players playing each other equally in the 90 minutes”.
However, Konate insisted he did not commit a foul on Barcola, telling French TV: “There was a VAR check. If there was a push, like you said, I would have been shown a red card.
“I’m telling you that there wasn’t a foul. It’s true that I am very strong but I don’t apply power, I just put my arm. If I had put a lot more power into it then we could talk about it but it was soft for me.”
Harvey Elliott’s late goal, scored less than a minute after coming onto the pitch, gave Liverpool a crucial 1-0 lead ahead of next week’s decisive second-leg match at Anfield.
PSG midfielder Vitinha refused to blame the contentious decision for the outcome, stating: “The foul on Barcola? It was difficult to see. I can’t talk without seeing it and we’re not going to hide behind that.”