High profile gesture from former Celtic star goes viral
Football - Dundee v Celtic - Scottish Premiership - Dens Park - 22/4/15 Cetic's Virgil van Dijk celebrates with Leigh Griffiths after scoring the second goal for his side Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Former Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk has been at the centre of football attention today.
Not for scoring the last minute equaliser that provided Holland with a 2-2 draw away to Germany and into the finals of the UEFA Nations League.
After failing to qualify for the last two major tournaments Dutch football has been in something of a crisis but drawn in a group that included France and Germany they have emerged from the darkness.
Well played Virgil van Dijk.
Match-winner ?
Great guy ?The Liverpool and Netherlands defender showed his human side on Monday night.https://t.co/fAr811Fl4K pic.twitter.com/YUC4sm4fSp
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 20, 2018
Virgil van Dijk consoles distraught referee in tears at final whistle of Holland clash against Germany https://t.co/g7K4raAXCu pic.twitter.com/s7bd4N3tzQ
— The Sun (@TheSun) November 20, 2018
Virgil van Dijk reveals heartbreaking reason why he consoled referee at full-time https://t.co/Oaco7pc372 pic.twitter.com/NH38dN4inm
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) November 20, 2018
That achievement has been put in the shadow however by a gesture from van Dijk.
Shortly before the match kicked off it news emerged that the mother of Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan.
Rather than share the adulation of his team-mates and the Dutch supporters van Dijk made towards Hategan to share his sympathies.
Holland now join Portugal, England and Switzerland in the semi-final draw for the Nations League.