The Liverpool captain received a straight red for fouling Alexander Isak on the edge of the box in the first half of Sunday’ encounter at St. James’ Park.
After being shown the red, Van Dijk could be seen angrily remonstrating with match official John Brooks and took some time to leave the field.
He also appeared to have words with the fourth official as he headed down the tunnel.
Despite Van Dijk’s dismissal, Liverpool pulled off an impressive comeback, winning 2-1 thanks to a Darwin Nuñez brace.
Van Dijk had been expected to serve a one-match ban for his red card as the sending off did not relate to violent conduct. However, the FA confirmed on Tuesday that the defender has now been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3.1, adding “it is alleged that the defender acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words towards a match official.
“Virgil Van Dijk has until Friday, 1 September to provide a response to this charge.”
HOW MANY GAMES WILL VAN DIJK BE SUSPENDED FOR?
If the charge is upheld, Van Dijk could have an extra game added to his one-match ban.
This would mean he would miss, not only the Reds fixture against Aston Villa (Sunday, 3 September), but also the trip to Wolves after the international break (Saturday, 16 September).
