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Jordan Henderson did not leave a good impression on Bas Nijhuis in his first meeting on the field. The referee talks in the program Freesia & Milan park the bus by ESPN about a chat with the Ajax midfielder.
On February 18, Nijhuis was the designated referee for the match between Ajax and NEC, which ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first match in which Henderson was captain, as both Steven Bergwijn and Steven Berghuis were injured.
In that match, Nijhuis and Henderson met each other for the first time. The last time the referee refereed an Ajax match was on January 21, when the Amsterdam team played against RKC Waalwijk. Henderson was not yet in the squad at that time.
“It was the first match that Henderson was captain,” Nijhuis reflects. “Of course he had to prove himself and was very fanatically swearing and ranting that I had to blow the whistle for everything.”
“At one point I said: hello, have you played in England or not? Or did you just sit there on the couch? I say: in England they whistle even less. Come on man, play football!”
Ultimately, Henderson came around and showed understanding for Nijhuis' words. “And then he came to me later, and he said, 'Ref, you're right!'”
“Sometimes you say things that you think might be better not to say. But afterwards that player came to me, haha,” concludes Nijhuis.
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