Director reacts furiously to Dutchman after stupid red card in city derby

Mees Rijks did his club Vålerenga IF a disservice on Saturday. The Dutch striker received his second yellow card before half time in the always heated Oslo city derby against Lyn FK, after which Lyn quickly equalized. During halftime, Vålerenga's technical director Joacim Jonsson went all out on Rijks, who came over from Jong FC Utrecht last winter.

Rijks started in the starting line-up and received his first yellow card after half an hour. There wasn't much going on at the time, especially after Daniel Håkans the Kongeblå took the lead a few minutes later. Still, Vålerenga would go into halftime with a bad feeling. This was firstly due to the second yellow card for Rijks, who made an unnecessarily hard tackle in Lyn's half and was allowed to take a shower. With eleven against ten, Lyn equalized just before half time through Andreas Hellum.

During halftime, the Norwegian television channel watched TV2 with Jonsson back on the first half. “It's completely inexcusable,” Jonsson began. “There are no excuses for this. He comes from the side, it happens on the sidelines… It's completely inexcusable. There's no arguing about it. He puts his teammates in a hellish situation.”

“It happens when the score is 1-0. We have full control of the match, and then the image completely turns around in a split second. This is not allowed. It is not professional enough, it is unprofessional.” Vålerenga coach Geir Bakke also did not know what he saw. “This was extremely unnecessary. I almost have no words for it. Terribly unnecessary.”

Also TV2analyst Jesper Mathisen was harsh in his assessment. “This is just a short circuit. Tobias Myhre (the victim of Rijks' tackle, ed.) is looking face down at the corner flag. It is a completely harmless situation and he has nothing to gain from making such a tackle stake.”

Jonsson's angry response quickly went viral in Norway. After the match, which ended 1-1, Rijks showed guilt. “I haven't been here very long. I love this club. I would like to apologize to the supporters who were there today and who saw the match on TV. I blame myself for not winning. It is unforgivable “I just really wanted to win and take all the blame. I want to say sorry again. It's unforgivable.”

The reporter on duty notes that Jonsson also used the word 'unforgivable' during his half-time analysis and wants to get back to the Swedish driver about this. The reporter wonders how it is possible that a director could be so harsh about an employee and asks him if that was right on his part. Before Jonsson can answer, Rijks interrupts Jonsson.

“Can I say something about this? The blame is entirely mine. You should never criticize the boss. He was absolutely right. This is part of my job and he tells it how it is. He cannot cover it with the cloak of love , because what I did is wrong. He should not be blamed. It is all my fault.”

Jonsson then speaks. “Maybe I was too harsh. I talked to Mees about this during halftime. He wants to win. I understand that. He really wants to win and fight for the team. He is a very good boy, but in these kinds of situations it is important to think. It's a stupid yellow card. Maybe I was too hard on him, but we have no grudges towards each other. He will come back. He will come back stronger.”

Lyn and Vålerenga are the two largest clubs in Oslo and are therefore each other's biggest rivals. Lyn was declared bankrupt in 2010 and then made a new start at Norway's seventh level. Vålerenga was therefore the only club from Oslo left at the highest level, until it did not survive the relegation/promotion play-offs last season. Lyn and Vålerenga are now fighting for promotion to the Eliteserien, Norway's highest level. After four rounds, both teams have collected five points. Rijks has scored once for Vålerenga so far.

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