Virgil van Dijk branded Slovakian referee Ivan Kruzliak the worst he had ever encountered after the controversial red card that crushed Celtic’s Europa League dreams. The Dutchman was sent off after just 36 minutes of the 1-0 second-leg defeat to Inter Milan following two bookings in rapid succession. Initially cautioned for a foul on Rodrigo Palacio, Van Dijk earned his marching orders for a second soft-looking offence against Mauro Icardi. Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk was sent off against Inter Milan following two bookings in rapid succession . Van Dijk (third left) looks away as he is dismissed in the first half for Celtic against Inter Milan . Celtic were incensed by a number of other decisions – including the denial of a penalty appeal by Stuart Armstrong – and Kris Commons earned a yellow card after the final whistle for voicing his opinion towards Kruzliak. It was, however, the dismissal of Van Dijk that left Ronny Deila’s men facing a titanic task, with their fate sealed two minutes from time when Fredy Guarin netted a spectacular strike to clinch a 4-3 aggregate victory for Inter. ‘It was a terrible decision,’ Van Dijk insisted. ‘That is the worst referee I have ever experienced in my career. ‘I don’t know why he made this decision but it was shocking. But I watched the whole game and I don’t understand all of the decisions he made. Van Dijk (right) looks dismayed as he leaves the pitch at the San Siro after being shown a red card . Kris Commons (centre) and Celtic will have reason to feel aggrieved with the referee after the game . ‘I got the red card and the second yellow was just a ball in the air we are challenging for – two players. We are shoulder to shoulder and Icardi got up and asked for the referee to book me again. He did that and it was a terrible decision. ‘I would never ask for an opponent to be booked but it happens in football. ‘What disappoints me most is that they weren’t yellow cards and it happened so early in the game. It was a bad decision and that shouldn’t happen. ‘There was also a shout for a penalty and a lot of other things. Like I said, the referee got so many things wrong. ‘He booked Adam (Matthews) and Nir (Bitton) in the second half and they weren’t yellows, either. It was unbelievable.’ Despite his outrage, Van Dijk also felt a sense of personal responsibility for Celtic failing to reach the last 16. Fredy Guarin (centre) scores from outside the area in the 88th minute to send Inter Milan through over Celtic . Craig Gordon (left) had been in great form on the night for Celtic but could not keep Guarin's strike out . ‘I want to apologise to my team-mates and all the fans who travelled to Italy,’ he added. ‘I let them down and I feel terrible. If I’d stayed on the pitch for 90 minutes, we’d have had a big chance to go through. ‘The guys are all with me. They know it wasn’t a red card and they have supported me already. But it’s an awful feeling as the ref made a decision, I was sent off and I feel like I’ve let them down. ‘We had a good gameplan and we started well. We learned a lot from the first leg at Celtic Park. We stayed close together as a back four and we talked a lot. We had chances and I think we would have had a good chance to go through. ‘It’s so disappointing and I need to learn from this. I am young, I am learning every day and I’ve high expectations for myself.’
Celtic lost 1-0 to Inter Milan in their Europa League clash .
Virgil van Dijk was sent off after receiving two bookings in nine minutes .
Van Dijk blasted the Slovakian referee for his performance .
Virgil van Dijk branded Slovakian referee Ivan Kruzliak the worst he had ever encountered after the controversial red card that crushed Celtic’s Europa League dreams. The Dutchman was sent off after just 36 minutes of the 1-0 second-leg defeat to Inter Milan following two bookings in rapid succession. Initially cautioned for a foul on Rodrigo Palacio, Van Dijk earned his marching orders for a second soft-looking offence against Mauro Icardi. Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk was sent off against Inter Milan following two bookings in rapid succession . Van Dijk (third left) looks away as he is dismissed in the first half for Celtic against Inter Milan . Celtic were incensed by a number of other decisions – including the denial of a penalty appeal by Stuart Armstrong – and Kris Commons earned a yellow card after the final whistle for voicing his opinion towards Kruzliak. It was, however, the dismissal of Van Dijk that left Ronny Deila’s men facing a titanic task, with their fate sealed two minutes from time when Fredy Guarin netted a spectacular strike to clinch a 4-3 aggregate victory for Inter. ‘It was a terrible decision,’ Van Dijk insisted. ‘That is the worst referee I have ever experienced in my career. ‘I don’t know why he made this decision but it was shocking. But I watched the whole game and I don’t understand all of the decisions he made. Van Dijk (right) looks dismayed as he leaves the pitch at the San Siro after being shown a red card . Kris Commons (centre) and Celtic will have reason to feel aggrieved with the referee after the game . ‘I got the red card and the second yellow was just a ball in the air we are challenging for – two players. We are shoulder to shoulder and Icardi got up and asked for the referee to book me again. He did that and it was a terrible decision. ‘I would never ask for an opponent to be booked but it happens in football. ‘What disappoints me most is that they weren’t yellow cards and it happened so early in the game. It was a bad decision and that shouldn’t happen. ‘There was also a shout for a penalty and a lot of other things. Like I said, the referee got so many things wrong. ‘He booked Adam (Matthews) and Nir (Bitton) in the second half and they weren’t yellows, either. It was unbelievable.’ Despite his outrage, Van Dijk also felt a sense of personal responsibility for Celtic failing to reach the last 16. Fredy Guarin (centre) scores from outside the area in the 88th minute to send Inter Milan through over Celtic . Craig Gordon (left) had been in great form on the night for Celtic but could not keep Guarin's strike out . ‘I want to apologise to my team-mates and all the fans who travelled to Italy,’ he added. ‘I let them down and I feel terrible. If I’d stayed on the pitch for 90 minutes, we’d have had a big chance to go through. ‘The guys are all with me. They know it wasn’t a red card and they have supported me already. But it’s an awful feeling as the ref made a decision, I was sent off and I feel like I’ve let them down. ‘We had a good gameplan and we started well. We learned a lot from the first leg at Celtic Park. We stayed close together as a back four and we talked a lot. We had chances and I think we would have had a good chance to go through. ‘It’s so disappointing and I need to learn from this. I am young, I am learning every day and I’ve high expectations for myself.’
Virgil van Dijk branded Slovakian referee Ivan Europa League dreams. The Dutchman was sent off after just 36 minutes of the 1-0 second-leg defeat to Inter Milan following two bookings in