Referee Martin van den Kerkhof admits that he made a mistake during the Eredivisie match between sc Heerenveen and Vitesse (1-2). In the build-up to the equalizer of Loïs Openda, the arbiter accidentally hit the ball, but he let the Arnhem team complete the attack. That led to a lot of anger from the home side.
In the 55th minute of play, substitute Julian von Moos was very alert when the ball was touched by Van den Kerkhof in the half of Heerenveen. The Vitesse attacker rushed into the sixteen-meter area, after which Opende finished off in a cool way. Heerenveen complained about the fact that referee Martin van den Kerkhof had touched the pass on Van Moos, but the objection was to no avail.
Goal or not? Should the referee have disallowed this goal? ????#heevit pic.twitter.com/fF6ZNvu8so
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) October 30, 2021
Afterwards, the referee acknowledges in front of the camera of ESPN that the goal should never have been allowed. “What happens with that goal? Well, that’s something that pisses me off. Of course you never want to be involved in a goal as a referee. Because Vitesse remained in possession of the ball, I let the game continue. It would have been smarter to just blow the whistle there. Technically, you have ball possession that does not change, so I let play continue. I hate it and it’s just awkward. The line isn’t ABC, but I should have whistled. I go home with a shitty feeling”, concludes Van den Kerkhof.
Johnny Jansen, trainer of Heerenveen, appears extremely frustrated in front of the camera after the loss. “There was a lot of disbelief in the dressing room. How does this actually exist? He (Van den Kerkhof, ed.) just pushes him in the right direction! He gave the front assist.” When Jansen hears from the reporter that the referee should have whistled according to the rules, he is relentless. “If so, it’s really outrageous. Can the VAR intervene? He’s watching too! The supporters sent: ‘Switch that ref.’ And we should have done that,” said the coach.