Louis van Gaal has sent an angry letter to UEFA and FIFA. The national coach of the Dutch national team did this in response to the arbitration appearances in the Nations League matches against Belgium, Poland and Wales. According to Van Gaal, the international referees do not understand what kind of game system he is aiming for, as a result of which his players are called back too often.
Despite the fact that the the Dutch squad managed to achieve ten points in the past four international matches, Van Gaal was not completely satisfied. His team was called back 53 times for a foul. “Within our game system, we strive to put as much pressure as possible on the man with the ball when the opponent has possession of the ball. With positive aggression,” the seventy-year-old coach told The Football Trainer. “What was the ‘solution’ of opponents in the four Nations League games when our fierce pressure on the ball threatened to lose the ball?”
According to Van Gaal, opponents let themselves fall theatrically. “As if there had been a serious violation. Time after time. And the arbitral trios fell for it. I got into hell about that a few times on the couch. Such erroneous estimates unjustly stand in the way of the desired implementation of our system.” Van Gaal’s plea did not work for UEFA referee boss Pierluigi Collina, who does not want to talk to the elector.
Arsene Wenger, who is now responsible for technical developments and rules of the game at FIFA, is open to a conversation. “I am curious”, Van Gaal responds to the General Newspaper. “We also sent short video images of game situations, at least about fifteen. The central question is: can the the Dutch still play as we think it should play? With pressure forward on the ball, within the rules of the game? Or should we always walk backwards , like most countries? Football is a sport with physical resistance.”
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