ITV and Sky Sports were forced to apologise for an x-rated Virgil van Dijk outburst just minutes into the Carabao Cup final.
Liverpool and Newcastle went head-to-head at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. And after the traditional rendition of the national anthem, Liverpool stars elected to get in a huddle for a rousing speech from captain van Dijk.
And speaking during that huddle, the Dutchman had some choice language in an effort to get his teammates focused. He said: “We worked so hard to be here. Let’s f****** do this .”
And then just minutes after kick-off, commentator Peter Drury said: “Apologies if you picked up any bad language during the pent-up moment ahead of kick-off. “
The game was available on Sky Sports, as well as free on ITV. Speaking ahead of the game, Van Dijk set out his stall, with the trophy being the only thing that the Reds cared about. He said: "It's enjoyable, but at the end of the day, we all know how it works in the business.
"You get judged at a club like Liverpool at what you win at the end of the road and we have to keep working. I think they (Newcastle) didn't win a trophy for (70 years) so there's a lot of motivation there.
"We obviously want to win so badly as well. We worked so hard to get where we are and obviously it's the first season together with the new regime and we want to show that we can win trophies.
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"You can't control what anyone says. Someone told me people are saying that we're only going just for the league. These things, you can't stop it.
"It's part of being a football player, having so many platforms nowadays that people can say whatever they want. You just have to shut down a little bit, focus on the task ahead as a team and try to win."
And despite Van Dijk's rousing message, it was a low key start to the Carabao Cup final, with Newcastle enjoying the better of the early openings.
Both Liverpool and Newcastle now face a couple of weeks away from the pitch with the international break bringing domestic action to an end. Liverpool's next assignment is a Merseyside derby clash with Everton. Meanwhile, Newcastle's next game is a home Premier League clash with Brentford.
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