Beckford did not intend to hurt Van Dyck, Carragher insists
Writing Daily Telegraph column, Former Liverpool defender Jimmy Carragher discusses what it is like to receive a “horror treatment”.
On the incident between Jordan Pickford and Virgil Van Dyck says:
I cannot agree with the suggestion that Jordan Pickford was put together to intentionally hurt his rival. I know how they both feel. For Van Dyck, the torment is material. For Beckford, it’s psychological.
As a player and now an expert, you try to assess from the perspective of a fellow professional – as much as possible – to avoid being accused of double standards. That’s why I looked beyond the raw feelings that followed the Pickford treatment and saw it for what it was – impulsive, not malicious.
Beckford did what it did against Nani. His initial movement was towards the ball, unaware of the man. Realizing it was too late and out of office, he panicked, lost control and dived.
These were the actions of a head player everywhere. It’s been for a while.
Currently, every time Beckford makes a critical decision on the field, it is often the wrong decision. This had dangerous repercussions for the Liverpool defender.
These are the terrible situations that we have to deal with sometimes in the game. Bad injuries are an occupational hazard.
As professionals, we are asked by the coaching staff and the fans not to evade interference – especially in the derby.
I can assure you, when we do, our main concern is to be aggressive in taking care of ourselves and helping our team, not causing injury.
Likewise, Liverpool’s agonizing reaction is not unique and I see hypocrisy in those who accuse my former team of going too far in their immediate response to it.
The feeling of being wronged by the main decisions fueled the already volatile post-match situation. Because all of this happened in the Merseyside derby and the Pickford Challenge went unpunished, the sentiment increased.
As for the goofs on social media targeting Pickford or Richarlison, they are no more representative of the Liverpool fan base like the ones who mistreated Welsh footballer Neil Taylor when he broke Seamus Coleman’s leg during an international match in 2017, or Heung-Min Son after injuring Andre Gomez. a year ago. Frankly, the finer responses after those incidents came from Coleman and Gomez.
