Jurgen Klopp steps in as furious Virgil van Dijk 'abuses' officials over Liverpool red

Jurgen Klopp stepped in by appearing to push Virgil van Dijk into the tunnel after the Liverpool defender was sent off against Newcastle. Van Dijk has been dismissed for the first time in his Reds career after attacking Aleksandar Isak to deny a clear goalscoring opportunity.

The Dutchman was clearly furious with the decision and was slow to leave the pitch. He continued to yell at referee John Brooks, with Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville suggesting he was "abusing" the official.

Van Dijk eventually walked to the touchline and continued to yell at the fourth referee, appearing to swear in his face. Liverpool boss Klopp then appeared to step in to keep his experienced star from getting into further trouble.

Klopp was seen gently pushing Van Dijk down the tunnel and away from the stage, where the defender clearly wanted to continue his case to the fourth referee. The German then continued to protest to officials, at the risk of being reprimanded himself.

Van Dijk's red card came amid a chaotic first half for Liverpool at St. James' Park. His compatriot Trent Alexander-Arnold escaped a sending-off in the first six minutes.

The England defender was booked after three minutes for kicking the ball after a decision went against him - he is now considered a mandatory yellow card under guidelines issued to referees at the start of the season. The right-back then cynically brought down Anthony Gordon moments later.

Referee Brooks let out a sheepish Alexander-Arnold with just a warning. But it was the English ace's mistake that saw Newcastle open the scoring midway through the first half.

Mohamed Salah's poor pass proved too much for Alexander-Arnold to control, allowing Gordon to clear on goal. The former Everton winger clinically finished beyond Alisson.

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Newcastle then had a chance to make it 2-0. Isak collected Gordon's pass and appeared to be one-on-one with Alisson, only for Van Dijk to bring down the Swede savagely.

Brooks had no choice but to show the 32-year-old a red card. Van Dijk will miss Liverpool's clash with Aston Villa next weekend but his apparent abuse of the referee and fourth official could land him an extended suspension.

Speaking on Sky's commentary on the game, former Manchester United defender Neville said: "He's abusing the official now. You just need to take your meds and get off the pitch. We've all been there."