‘Out of order’ Liverpool star ‘overreacted’ to sh*thousery as Van Dijk hits out at Michael Oliver

Martin Keown claims Curtis Jones “overreacted” before being sent off after the final whistle in the dramatic draw with Everton in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday.

James Tarkowski had slammed in the equaliser for the Toffees in the last ever derby at Goodison Park just seconds before and Jones took issue with Abdoulaye Doucoure celebrating in front of the travelling Liverpool fans.

The pair had to separated in what turned into a mass brawl on the pitch, with referee Michael Oliver sending both players off.

Keown reckons Jones was “out of order” and “overreacted” to Doucoure’s sh*thousery.

Speaking on Premier League Productions, Keown said: “Curtis Jones overracts for me. It’s out of order.”

To which Michael Owen responded: “Doucoure, you can’t do that. That’s dangerous. You can’t condone Curtis Jones either.”

Oliver then showed Liverpool boss Arne Slot a red card as well as his assistant Sipke Hulshoff, with Reds skipper Virgil van Dijk therefore left to conduct the post-match interviews as Premier League rules prevent dismissed coaches from doing so.

Van Dijk claimed Oliver “didn’t have the game under control” as he explained why Jones was so frustrated.

“We saw how they celebrated the goal, they have every right to,” the Liverpool captain said.

“But in the end I think Doucoure wanted to provoke our fans and Curtis didn’t think that was the right thing to do.

“Then obviously you know what happens when there’s a little tussle.

“But I think the ref didn’t have the game under control, in my opinion. I said it to him. I don’t know what it is, but it is a fact.

“Both teams had to deal with it. It is what it is. Like I said, take the point and move on.”

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Van Dijk admitted the last-gap equaliser was a “blow” for Liverpool in what was a “cup final” for Everton.

“They did the same things they always do. They’re very direct. Fight for the first ball, second ball,” the Dutchman said.

“Obviously we all know that this is their cup final and they will try to everything in their power to make it difficult and try to win from us.

“We saw it last year how difficult they made it and this year you see them scoring at the end, it’s obviously a big boost for them and a blow for us.”

That was, of course, not aided by Oliver’s input, with Van Dijk adding: “I think the referee had a big part in the game today, in terms of certain challenges were given as fouls and similar weren’t.”