Nations League
Van Dijk sues FIFA after Brobbey injury and refereeing row
Virgil Van Dijk expressed his anger yesterday in the Netherlands after the Nations League group stage against Germany, criticizing the performance of Spanish referee Hernández Hernández and pointing out that FIFA is also responsible for the injury of his teammate Brian Brobbey, now absent at Sunderland.
Van Dijk's protests against FIFA
Van Dijk accused Spanish referee Hernández Hernández of a controversial decision during the Nations League match between the Netherlands and Germany, which ended 1-1. Liverpool's central defender said: "I don't want to talk too much about the issue to avoid getting into trouble".
The captain also criticised FIFA for the overload of international matches. According to Van Dijk, "We just finished the World Cup only a few months ago, why the rush? The workload for players is excessive".
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The complaint intensifies after Brian Brobbey's injury, who suffered a knock in the match against Germany and will be out for several weeks. Sunderland, his club, seems to lose the striker during that period.
EFE reported that the injury left Brobbey in magnificent form before the incident. "This has been the complaint of almost all footballers, but FIFA seems not to listen", Van Dijk said.
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National team mate Dumfries added that Brobbey is "a great player, but we already know what it's about". Journalist Yaca Garcia-Planas covered the statement and highlighted the tension between the players and the governing body.