VIRGIL VAN DIJK has joined teammate Stuart Armstrong – who was denied a stonewall penalty kick – and manager Ronny Delia in attacking referee Ivan ‘The Terrible’ Kruzliak after tonight’s incredibly frustrating Europa League exist for Celtic.
The hugely talented Dutch defender was sent off for two bookings and he reckons Ivan made terrible mistakes each time. Virgil had this to say:
“I think the decision was terrible and it was the worst referee I have experienced in my football career.
“The decisions he made were shocking and I don’t understand any of the decisions he made.
“I think the second yellow was a ball in the and we both went for the challenge. It was shoulder to shoulder and he went down and he asked for a yellow card as well, then the ref gave it.
“I thought the first challenge was fair, it was hard, but we play man’s football.
“I couldn’t do anything [to change the referee’s mind], you can shout and scream all you want but it doesn’t change anything, all you can do is hope the team will do the almost impossible.
“If I was on the pitch for a full 90 minutes then I think we had a great opportunity to win.
“Our game plan before the match was good and we learned a lot from the first match. We kept the back four close to each other, but it was bad for me that I got the red card.
“I let my teammates down and the fans who travelled here. Everyone knows it wasn’t a red card, but I was out and still let them down.”
