Liverpool stars Virgil van Dijk, Jordan Henderson and Andrew Robertson attempted to confront Sevilla defender Joris Gnagnon after their not-so-friendly match in Boston on Sunday.
The Reds trio were not happy with the Frenchman for scything down 18-year-old youngster Yasser Larouci with a shocking tackle, which earned him a straight red card at Fenway Park.
Larouci was carried off the pitch on a stretcher in the 80th minute of Liverpool’s 2-1 pre-season defeat, and manager Jurgen Klopp later said the teenager had been ‘lucky’ not to have suffered a more serious injury. He was later spotted wearing a protective boot and walking on crutches on the way to the team bus.
Although Klopp refused to comment too much on the incident, saying he ‘didn’t want to make headlines’ as he ‘wants to have a holiday in Spain again’, James Milner said Gnagnon’s challenge was ‘disgraceful’.
And a video clip has emerged on social media showing Reds skipper Henderson along with defenders Van Dijk and Robertson confronting Gnagnon after the match.
Van Dijk (seen at the bottom of the video) appeared to make a beeline straight for the Sevilla man (sitting behind the advertising hoarding) after the full-time whistle and was quickly joined by his team-mates, before they were all pulled away by coaches.
The shocking incident arose when young Liverpool winger Larouci played on when one of Sevilla’s players was down injured.
Gnagon then lashed out with a frustrated kick, which launched the 18-year-old into the air and left him in a heap on the turf.
The Sevilla player later sent an apology to Liverpool and Larouci for his ‘odious act’.
“I would like to publicly apologise towards Liverpool, the family of the player and its supporters,” he posted on Twitter.
“It was an odious act on my part. Whatever the reason, it’s not what should be seen on a football pitch.
“All my prayers are with the player and his family.”
