New Delhi, Aug 26: Newcastle United forward Anthony Gordon apologised to his teammates and fans after he was shown a straight red card for his tackle on Virgil Van Dijk during their defeat against Liverpool at St. James Park.
After having gone 1-0 down in the first half, with Ryan Gravenberch scoring a long-range opener, Gordon slid in on the Liverpool captain and flattened the Dutchman out.
Although he was shown a yellow card at first, the Virtual Assistant Referee prompted a red card.
Gordon said he ‘would never intend’ to tackle someone on purpose and promised a strong comeback to the Newcastle faithful.
“I want to sincerely apologise to my teammates and the fans. My intentions were pure. I was just trying to create energy in the game and I mistimed the tackle. I would never intend to tackle somebody like this on purpose. We spoke after and he (Van Dijk) knows that.
“More importantly, I’m so proud of the time I spent on the pitch and how we played tonight.
The atmosphere is what makes St James Park so special. I love everything we stand for as a club, no more than right now.
I’ll be back and better, the same as every other setback I have faced,” read the post by Gordon.
Hugo Ekitike made it 2-0 moments after the restart, the hosts clawed themselves back level through Bruno Guimaraes and William Osula. Rio Ngumoha’s 100th-minute winner gave Liverpool a dramatic 3-2 victory.
The Dutch center-back revealed his conversation with Gordon while he was leaving the pitch and admitted incidents like these happen in football.
“I said to him, if that’s not a sending off then I don’t understand football. It was strange the referee had to go to the monitor in my opinion. Unfortunately, these things happen in football, if he meant it or not it happened, we move on,” said Van Dijk to Sky Sports. Gordon’s dismissal ultimately proved costly for Newcastle, who showed admirable fight to pull themselves level but fell just short in the dying moments. While his apology may ease some of the frustration among fans, the suspension comes as another setback for Eddie Howe’s side in a stuttering start to the campaign. For Liverpool, meanwhile, the victory not only maintained their perfect record but also unveiled a new star in teenager Rio Ngumoha, whose late winner turned a fiery contest into a memorable night for the Reds. (IANS)
