Greek fans were left to boo loudly at Virgil van Dijk, after his match-winning celebration last night.
Van Dijk hammered home a 93rd minute penalty to hand the Netherlands a 1-0 win over Greece. It was a great moment for the Liverpool captain, who was praised by Dutch media for his part in the victory.
But, unsurprisingly, Greek publication Sportime had a very different view of things. They claim that Van Dijk’s celebration – his usual wobbly hand under the chin, tongue out routine – was ‘not so elegant.’
As a result, it was met with the ‘disapproval’ of the home, Greece crowd who let the Reds centre-back know exactly what they thought of him
Boos were reportedly heard at the OPAP Arena, while Sportime cover some of the angry reactions from fans online. Not happy!
Virgil upsets the Greeks
Being the cool customer that he is, it’s unlikely that the opposition fans’ reaction will take up too much space in Virgil’s head.
The 32-year-old is more than experienced enough to have dealt with a fair few hostile crowds in his time. Having played in Old Firm, Merseyside and Manchester United Liverpool derbies, Van Dijk is well-versed.
Despite his red card against Newcastle United earlier this season, we’re still yet to see the £75m Dutchman ever troubled by what goes on in the stands.
Thankfully for us, he’s much more focused on the goings on on the pitch.
Last night, his well-struck penalty all-but took the Netherlands to Euro 2024, at Greece’s expense. That’s all Virgil will care about.
As for the Greece fans, well, you can see where they’re coming from in some ways. It was a hard way to lose and means they’ll likely have to sit out of yet another tournament, 20 years on from winning it. But that’s not Van Dijk’s fault.
Maybe they’ll have to send Kostas Tsimikas to have a strong word with him in training this week.
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