Danny Makkelie no longer continues with Mario Diks (pictured on the right) as his assistant referee, reports Omrop Fryslân. The top referee has expelled the linesman from his team after a breach of trust has arisen. Diks will therefore not play at the European Championship next summer.
The choice to say goodbye to Diks cannot be seen in isolation from the incident that took place at the European Championship qualifying match between Serbia and Portugal (2-2). In injury time, the assistant referee and Makkelie overlooked how a Cristiano Ronaldo bet had passed the goal line. With that, Portugal was denied a winning goal. It led to a furious reaction from the star of Portugal, who made a fierce protest at Diks and got yellow from Makkelie. Ronaldo strode furiously into the locker room, throwing away his captain’s armband.
Diks reacts opposite Omrop Fryslân on the break with Makkelie. “This is a very, very big disappointment for me so close to the European Championship,” says Diks. “On Wednesday, March 31, I heard from Makkelie that he wants to continue with another assistant, because the confidence in our cooperation has gone.” Together with Makkelie, Diks led, among other things, the Europa League final of 2020 and a semi-final at the World Cup for club teams this year. “I was really hoping for more support, understanding and trust after the successful collaboration over the years.”
Makkelie immediately found a replacement for Diks. “It is true that Jan de Vries has taken over the position of Mario Diks in the team”, the referee confirms to the regional Frisian broadcaster. “It’s a team issue. Out of respect for Mario, but also in the interest of the team, we are not making any statements about the reason for the change.” Makkelie usually worked with the permanent team consisting of Diks and Hessel Steegstra as his assistants, but also refereed matches in which De Vries was one of his assistants.