Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk branded referee Tony Harrington 'nervous' after sending Andy Robertson off in a frantic 2-2 draw against Fulham.
The Reds could have gone seven points clear at the top of the Premier League with a win over Fulham on Saturday at Anfield but were pegged back early on.
Former Manchester United star Andreas Pereira opened the scoring in the 11th minute before Robertson was shown a straight red card six minutes later.
The Scotsman was guilty of chopping down Harry Wilson and denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity while VAR checked and agreed.
Virgil van Dijk hit out at the referee over Andy Robertson's red card
Reuters
But Van Dijk was not happy with the decision, hitting out at the referee in his post-match press conference.
"A great comeback is very positive," the Dutchman said, as Liverpool equalised through Cody Gakpo and then again with a late Diogo Jota strike.
"It's disappointing having 10 men but we showed fight, kept trying to create chances. Could have been more but we take the point and move on.
"Stay calm. It's easier to say than do it. It was always going to be tough against them. We saw it last year and last week against Arsenal.
"We had to turn it around and keep fighting. We tried.
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"I had conversations with the players of Fulham and we felt like the referee was nervous. He couldn't properly communicate with Robertson I felt.
"We can't put the blame on the referee. We all speak about protecting the referee but I couldn't speak to him.
"It shouldn't be a big thing because he isn't why we dropped points.
"It is what it is. We take the points, recover quickly and be ready for the game on Wednesday."
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Andy Robertson was sent off in the early stages of Liverpool's match against Fulham
Reuters
Liverpool looked the stronger team against Fulham despite being a man down while Mohamed Salah had several excellent chances but could not score.
He did, however, deliver a delicious cross for Gakpo seconds after the break to see the Reds cancel Pereira's opener.
Rodrigo Muniz came off the bench to put the Cottagers ahead again with 15 minutes left but Jota's late strike meant the points were shared.
With Arsenal stumbling themselves in a 0-0 draw, Liverpool might breathe a sigh of relief, though a win for Chelsea against Brentford on Sunday will see the gap reduced to two points.
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Virgil van Dijk was not happy with the decision to send Andy Robertson off
Reuters
Meanwhile, Fulham boss Marco Silva admitted his side should have capitalised on Liverpool's reduced numbers.
He said: "I think the red card created more emotion in the game, the crowd played their part. We had to keep more of the ball and make them run more.
"We reacted well and had so many times three against four, the decision-making has to be better.
"We conceded a late goal in a moment we were too open and the quality of Jota made an impact. We should have taken three."
