Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk is adamant that his sending off against Inter Milan last night was the wrong decision and has stressed that none of the fouls he committed were bookable offences.
The Dutch defender received his marching orders after just 36 minutes for receiving a second yellow card at the San Siro last night. Inter scored a goal in the 88th minute to book their place in the last 16 of the Europa League.
Celtic manager Ronny Deila was quick to express his displeasure with the referee and blamed him for costing his side a place in the competition’s round of 16.
Van Dijk is adamant that the referee was wrong to send him off, but admits that it is disappointing that the team had to exit the competition because of his errors.
The Dutch defender feels none of the fouls were bookable offences and believes the second yellow card was handed out under the influence of the home side’s reactions.
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"It was never a red card and everybody could see that, but he gave it”, Van Dijk told the BBC.
“It's a terrible feeling for me now.
"If you look at the fouls, the first one was never a yellow card. It was maybe a foul – but never a yellow card.
"The second one was a 50-50 challenge in the air and we both go with the shoulder and he gave a yellow card because I think the striker asked for it.
“It is very disappointing.”
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