Fans believe Virgil van Dijk displayed the “ultimate disrespect” toward Richarlison during an off-the-ball moment in the Carabao Cup.

Fans have joked that Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk showed the “ultimate disrespect” to a Tottenham player during the Carabao Cup semi-final.

Spurs entered the second leg at Anfield with a 1-0 lead after Lucas Bergvall’s late goal in the first leg. They defended resolutely in the opening half-hour, with new loan signing Kevin Danso playing a key role on his debut.

Liverpool thought they had equalized when Dominic Szoboszlai found the net, but his goal was ruled out for offside. However, Cody Gakpo eventually broke the deadlock in the 34th minute with a composed finish into the bottom left corner.

Earlier in the match, fans noticed Van Dijk’s reaction after Richarlison won a foul inside Spurs’ half. As the Brazilian sat on the turf, he looked up to see Van Dijk offering a hand to help him up. But just as Richarlison reached for it, the Dutch defender pulled his hand away at the last second and jogged off, leaving the Spurs forward momentarily confused.

Richarlison’s night got worse when he picked up an injury just before halftime and was replaced by Tel, who made his Spurs debut.

Liverpool doubled their lead in the second half after Darwin Nunez was brought down in the box by Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, allowing Mo Salah to confidently convert the resulting penalty.

The winner of the tie will face Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on March 16. Newcastle secured their spot with a 4-0 aggregate victory over Arsenal, winning 2-0 at St James’ Park thanks to goals from Jacob Murphy and Anth

ony Gordon.