Virgil van Dijk's lengthy absence through an anterior cruciate ligament injury has put a massive dent in Liverpool's title hopes, and to add insult to injury, Jordan Pickford will face no disciplinary action for the reckless challenge in Saturday's Merseyside derby that potentially ruined the defender's Anfield career. 

The English Football Association confirmed on Monday that the incident was seen by match officials on the pitch who concluded that Pickford's challenge was not worthy of a red card. Retrospective punishment can only be considered if an incident was not seen at the time. 

The verdict has raised further controversy about the decision on the day made by referee Michael Oliver and video assistant referee (VAR) David Coote.

"Pickford on Van Dijk is a clear challenge that endangers a player with excessive force and should have been deemed a sending-off. A red card should have been issued," former Premier League referee Mark Halsey told BBC. 

"Why it got missed only the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Board) can tell us that. It's amazing the statement has come out that they didn't recognize it as a red card, serious foul play challenge. I'm astonished," he added. 

The stance was supported by another former referee, Mark Clattenburg. "Michael Oliver should have been told to look at his monitor by VAR David Coote. Had Oliver done so, I'm sure he would have sent off Jordan Pickford for his challenge on Virgil van Dijk," he told Daily Mail.

"I've also heard it claimed Pickford could not be dismissed because Van Dijk was offside — rubbish. Oliver had not blown his whistle by the time Pickford lunged in, so he could still have been punished," he observed. 

"VAR confirming later Van Dijk was offside does not nullify a red. The bottom line is, Coote should have sent Oliver to his monitor. Given Van Dijk was injured, the referee had plenty of time to review the incident." 

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was equally incensed, but his major concern right now is how to deal with Van Dijk's absence.

"A few things are clear, so he now will be out for a while, that's clear," said Klopp in a press briefing. "We don't want to set any timeframe, to be honest, because each player is different and each individual is different."

"So we feel now in this moment extremely, extremely for him because most of us have been in a similar situation and we know that these situations are absolutely rubbish. You don't need it but you have to get over it and Virgil will get over it, 100%, and today is already the first day, if you want, of the recovery," he added. 

Former defender Jamie Carragher noted that Klopp's side must look to sign a replacement in the January transfer window. 

"The big question you're looking at now is, can Liverpool win the league without Van Dijk there? I think it blows the title race wide open," the veteran told Sky Sports. 

"Liverpool have to go into the market in January and not just because of Van Dijk's injury. They were weak in that area anyway. They lost (Dejan) Lovren before the start of the season... others in those positions are injury prone."