Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at 08:52• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 09:04

Danny Makkelie played a crucial role in the semi-final of the Champions League between Villarreal and Liverpool (2-3) on Tuesday evening. The Dutch arbiter was put to the test just before half-time when Giovani Lo Celso was kicked into the penalty area by Alisson Becker. Makkelie waved the protests aside, angering Fernando Roig Negueroles. The president of the Spanish club calls it ‘outrageous’ and says that Makkelie ‘did not have the level for a game of this caliber’.

Villarreal seemed close to a remontada, as Boulaye Dia and Francis Coquelin undo the 2-0 defeat from the first game before halftime. Unai Emery’s team even seemed en route to a third goal ten minutes before half-time, when the breakthrough Lo Celso was knocked down by Alisson in the Liverpool penalty area. However, Makkelie did not want to and decided to let the game continue. After the break, Jürgen Klopp’s team put things in order and the 2-0 deficit was turned into a 2-3 victory for a final place in the final.

Negueroles couldn’t believe afterwards that Makkelie let the game continue on the stroke of half-time at the moment between Lo Celso and Alisson. “It is really outrageous that he did not give a penalty for this,” said the chairman in conversation with Movistar† “This referee was not at the level for a game of this caliber. The Liverpool goalkeeper just knocked Giovani Lo Celso down. There is no other explanation if you ask me. I don’t want to use the referee as an excuse for our defeat. Liverpool could have won much bigger. But this arbitration was certainly not of the right level to lead this match. We didn’t have him with us at important moments.”

Danny Makkelie is working hard! † Judge for yourself: yes/no penalty? †#ZiggoSport #UCL #VILLIV pic.twitter.com/fZ9L1M6yBq

— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) May 3, 2022

It is not the first time that Makkelie has been the target of discussion. Earlier this tournament, exactly the same happened after the Champions League match between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain (3-1). According to Movistar President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi and sporting director Leonardo marched furiously towards the referee’s changing room. The anger in Paris was mainly about Makkelie’s decision to approve Real Madrid’s 1-1. Gianluigi Donnarumma hesitated under pressure from Karim Benzema with kicking the ball away. Vinícius Júnior took advantage and put in front of Benzema from the back line, who simply typed in: 1-1. However, according to the PSG camp, Benzema committed a foul on Donnarumma.