Whilst I am sure Virgil van Dijk would’ve liked the attention to be on his football, for most of the season he has had to bat away questions about his future at Liverpool instead.

But now, with his contract extension talks progressing well, it seems as if the spotlight has returned to him on the pitch.

Liverpool suffered a shock defeat away at Fulham on Sunday as multiple defensive errors led to three quick-fire goals from Fulham that put the game beyond Liverpool before half-time.

Virgil van Dijk is one of the best centre-backs on the planet and because of this he sets the standard for what other centre-backs should aspire to be like.

Virgil van Dijk's text to former Liverpool team-mate as Steven Gerrard proven right	Premier League rivals wanted Virgil van Dijk on free transfer	Virgil van Dijk new wages revealed – third-highest in the Premier League

As a result of this, criticism of his performances tend to be a lot stronger.

Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett had some scathing remarks about Liverpool’s captain recently.

Speaking to The Telegraph, he said: “One of the things we need to understand is that, one hour before a game kicks off, Virgil van Dijk will, with his manager, go into the referee’s dressing room and be introduced.”

“I just wonder whether the conversation between the referee and van Dijk are fairly amicable and that the referees are falling into a trap.”

“But there is no doubt as far as I’m concerned that this player is a serial offender and match officials are failing to apply the appropriate sanctions.”

It is important to note that every captain and manager of their team up and down the league complete the same process as Virgil van Dijk and Arne Slot.

To suggest that van Dijk is somehow convincing referees to let him off easy could not be further from the truth and is extremely baseless.

It is not fair to single out van Dijk in this way, many defenders have escaped bookings for challenges that on another day wouldn’t go unnoticed.

To claim he is a ‘serial offender’ who regularly escapes punishment is a damaging thing to say and is very poorly placed by Mr.

Hackett.

Comments such as these feed into the narrative of people trying to undermine Liverpool’s successes this season, as they close in on a record-equalling 20th league title.

Should van Dijk go on to lift the Premier League title in May, I am sure we are well aware of who will be getting the last laugh.

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