



It was all supposed to be a good-natured gesture to suggest Van Dijk, who cost £75million, really was worth his weight in gold following his debut goal against Everton.



JAMIE CARRAGHER REVEALS RUMOUR ABOUT VIRGIL VAN DIJKBut police arrived at the scene shortly before 9am as the Paddy Power plan backfired.



They demanded to see safety paperwork and, when that was produced, were still not satisfied it met their requirements.



Four police cars then arrived and ordered the statue to be taken down immediately and insisted it was due to fears of a 'bomb threat'.



They then slapped the lorry driver with Van Dijk on his vehicle a fixed penalty notice before he left the area - with Van Dijk back on board.



Workers arrived to erect a huge replica figure of Van Dijk in the early hours of this morning ahead of Liverpool's clash with Manchester City as part of a Paddy Power stunt.It was all supposed to be a good-natured gesture to suggest Van Dijk, who cost £75million, really was worth his weight in gold following his debut goal against Everton.But police arrived at the scene shortly before 9am as the Paddy Power plan backfired.They demanded to see safety paperwork and, when that was produced, were still not satisfied it met their requirements.Four police cars then arrived and ordered the statue to be taken down immediately and insisted it was due to fears of a 'bomb threat'.They then slapped the lorry driver with Van Dijk on his vehicle a fixed penalty notice before he left the area - with Van Dijk back on board.

PADDY POWER The Virigl van Dijk statue has had to be removed

PADDY POWER Paddy Power put a statute of Virgil van Dijk outside Anfield

A Paddy Power news release read: "The statue, which was based on the great big fee Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk, arrived on a whopping flatbed lorry at around 5am in the morning.



"Under the cover of darkness, yes, but it’s still difficult to hide a giant golden man that took 180 hours to make.



"Construction workers – and a crane – worked to get the defender in an upright position, with help from scaffolding, a lot of metal framework and some hard hats. The process took around two hours from start to finish, and there he stood, looking proud over his new home.



"But, as these things often do, the attention didn’t go unnoticed by Anfield safety officials who were not one bit impressed with their new addition.



"Before we knew it, the local police were called amid concerns of terror or a bomb threat. Yep, things escalated very quickly.



"Four squad cars turned up and it was decided that the statue needed to come down… Understandable, but easier said than done.

"While trying to avoid getting ourselves into any more trouble, VVD was laid back down on the truck, and it was as though it never happened. Well, except for the hundreds of photos on phones and the screening on Sky Sports News. Oops.



"We’d also like to add – that we worked entirely with the builders to make sure the structure was as safe as a backline containing Virgil van Dijk. We also made sure to comply fully with all police requests.



"When we hoped for an explosive reaction to the stunt… This isn’t quite what we had in mind."



A Merseyside Police statement following the incident read: "Merseyside Police can confirm officers were called to the junction of Anfield Road and Alroy Road in Anfield this morning, Sunday 14th January, following reports a HGV was blocking the road.



"The driver of the vehicle was issued with a fixed penalty notice for highway obstruction. The vehicle has since left the area."

Virgil van Dijk goal causes Liverpool fans to troll Man Utd Fri, January 5, 2018 Virgil van Dijk scored the winner on his debut against Everton, and Liverpool fans have taken the opportunity to start trolling Manchester United Play slideshow 1 of 9