Mark van Bommel cannot understand the decision of referee Georgi Kabakov and video referee Kevin Blom to give Sevilla a penalty in the final phase of the Champions League match with VfL Wolfsburg. Partly because of this, the game in the Volkswagen Arena eventually ended in a 1-1 draw. “We deserved to win, I’m not happy with a point,” Van Bommel said afterwards at the press conference.
Josuha Guilavogui hit Erik Lamela’s leg after kicking the ball and was surprised to see referee Kabakov being called to the screen by VAR Blom. The Bulgarian referee penalized the Wolfsburg defender’s action with his second yellow card and a penalty kick, as a result of which Van Bommel’s team saw the victory slip through the hands. “Everyone here in the hall, in the stadium and at home in front of the television will agree that this was not a penalty,” emphasizes Van Bommel.
“You can also exaggerate with that video referee. I asked the referee afterwards why he made this decision. But he didn’t answer,” continues the Wolfsburg trainer. He calls himself ‘a friend and an opponent’ of the VAR. “He can revise wrong decisions, that makes football better. But it depends on who is sitting in front of the screens. And this was not a penalty.”
“We are disappointed that we only have one point,” added Wolfsburg midfielder Maximilian Arnold in conversation with DAZN. “You can’t whistle for something like that in the Champions League. Sorry. It looks like they used video footage for the first time today. I have to restrain myself. The VAR only shows a still image. You can give an infinite number of penalties based on still images.”