Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk complained to referee Felix Zwayer several times during the European Championship semi-finals.
Photo: imago/Moritz Müller
Many people on the tracks at Dortmund Central Station believed it was a bad joke. For some, the tears over the bitter departure of their favorites had not yet dried when many supporters of the “Oranjes” no longer knew what to do that night. Broken trains, clueless police officers and a lack of information made this day in the beer town, which had begun so joyfully, end even more sobering. Pure luck decided who caught a train sometime well after midnight that went to Cologne or Düsseldorf to mocking applause, where many Dutch fans had ended up because of a lack of hotel capacity in Dortmund.
A total of almost 100,000 Dutch people wanted to take part in some way if the “Elftal” reached a final at a tournament on German soil for the third time after 1974 and 1988. Ronald Koeman, once a conspicuous figure in various roles in the 1988 European champion team, seemed shocked, but not shocked. “We fought like lions,” said the bond coach. “We should be proud because we have achieved a lot in these weeks, and I will not criticize my team.” The relationship between the team and the people has become too close again for that – especially the deep valley with the missed participation in the 2016 European Championship and the 2018 World Cup is finally over.
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Nevertheless, where the “Yellow Wall” usually sets the tone at Borussia Dortmund’s home games, a paralyzed mass stood in their orange costumes when the final whistle blew. The neighboring country, which has almost the same population as North Rhine-Westphalia, had a hard time eating this football evening, which began so beautifully with Xavi Simons’ dream goal, but ultimately ended bitterly with Ollie Watkins’ goal in the 91st minute. “You scored a second goal and that was the reason for our defeat,” said Koeman towards the English, who the 61-year-old politely congratulated.
The Dutch national coach would probably have also shaken referee Felix Zwayer, who, however, almost rushed into the dressing room while Koeman was hugging his colleague Gareth Southgate. A circumstance that really bothered some of the losers. “It says it all that he runs straight into the dressing room and doesn’t have time to shake our hands,” complained captain Virgil van Dijk. The defense chief took part in the debate about the German referee, who, together with video assistant Bastian Dankert, awarded a penalty, which Harry Kane used to make it 1-1 (18th). In this scene, when his defender colleague Denzel Dumfries touched the English striker’s foot shortly after Kane’s shot, Van Dijk “wouldn’t have given a penalty,” while Dumfries, who was subsequently cautioned, admitted “that the penalty can be given.” The reason for the VAR intervention flashed on the video walls: the intervention was “reckless”. Was that really it when fighting for the ball?
The cardinal question was once again when the video assistant would intervene decisively. Without a tip from the Leipzig control room and without studying in the review area, Zwayer would not have pointed to the point. The fact that the 43-year-old came into focus again in Dortmund, of all places, seemed bizarre. In December 2021, it was the Englishman Jude Bellingham, who was still playing for BVB at the time, who discussed Zwayer’s involvement in the Hoyzer scandal after a controversial VAR decision in the game against Bayern. The episode, in which the Berliner was also involved as a marginal figure, was almost two decades ago, but Zwayer’s intimate enemy Manuel Gräfe also promptly saw his criticism of the appointment confirmed.
The Uefa referee committee “with full eyesight” had an unnecessary discussion. Gräfe wrote in X: »As if there had been no one else in all of Europe. A blow to all referees with integrity and better and as unnecessary as a goiter. Far from such stupid tirades, Koeman also presented professional criticism in the press conference. »He wanted to block the ball. Punishing that is like telling him that we can’t play football properly.” The former world-class libero’s lack of understanding tended to be directed against the practice of using video evidence: “We can’t play football properly and that’s because of the VAR. He’s breaking football.« It was his sad final word on an evening that was needed on many levels for the Netherlands.
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