According to a report by Metro on Thursday, October 29, 2026, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was involved in a heated exchange with referee Darren England after a physical incident with Chelsea striker Emmanuel Emegha during their Carabao Cup fourth-round meeting at Anfield on Wednesday.

The incident happened during Liverpool’s penalty shootout victory over Chelsea, which secured their place in the quarter-finals of the competition. The match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes, with Morgan Rogers scoring from the penalty spot for Chelsea before Cody Gakpo equalised for the home side.

The game was eventually decided by a penalty shootout, with Liverpool coming out on top to book a quarter-final meeting with Bournemouth. However, the result was not the only talking point, as a second-half confrontation between Van Dijk and Emegha attracted attention.

Emegha, who came on as a substitute for Danny Welbeck in the 68th minute, was involved in a collision with Van Dijk just two minutes after entering the game. The Chelsea forward appeared to run into the Liverpool defender while the ball was elsewhere, sending the experienced centre-back to the ground.

Van Dijk was visibly unhappy with the incident and appeared to question the referee’s decision not to punish the Chelsea striker. Darren England allowed play to continue without showing Emegha a card.

Speaking during Sky Sports’ coverage, former Arsenal striker Alan Smith described the incident as unusual and noted that Van Dijk had something to say about it afterwards.

According to lip-reader Nicola Hickling, who analysed the exchange for Metro, Van Dijk told the referee: “No, no, no. I am done with him and anything to do with football. He better give up.”

The Liverpool captain was substituted shortly afterwards, with Jeremy Jacquet coming on to replace him.

Interestingly, Van Dijk and Emegha have previously represented the Netherlands national team together on two occasions. The 23-year-old striker joined Chelsea from Strasbourg during the summer in a deal reportedly worth €25 million.

His arrival at Stamford Bridge followed an impressive spell at Strasbourg, where he scored 31 goals in 78 appearances. However, a hamstring injury suffered in July delayed his start to the season, making the Liverpool encounter his official debut for Chelsea.

With Joao Pedro also unavailable because of a knee injury, Emegha could have an opportunity to compete for a place in Chelsea’s squad ahead of their Premier League meeting with Manchester United on Saturday.

Despite Liverpool progressing to the next round, the confrontation between Van Dijk and Chelsea’s new striker provided another talking point from an eventful evening at Anfield.