Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk has knocked down referee Felix Zwayer, who was in charge of the Euro 2024 semi-final against England on Wednesday, July 10. The Liverpool star claimed there is an urgent need for more responsibility for the decisions and actions of referees in a match.
The Netherlands, which lost 2-1, took an early lead through Xavi Simons’ stunning goal in the seventh minute. However, a few minutes later the first controversial moment of the match arrived, offering England a lifeline.
Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries put his leg at knee height to block Harry Kane’s short-range volley. The Bayern Munich forward caught the first naturally in the follow-up to his shot and fell to the ground. England were awarded a penalty after a VAR check. Kane correctly converted the resulting penalty to equalize in the 18th minute.
A new controversy arose after England substitute Ollie Watkins scored the winner in the 90th minute. The Netherlands felt that Zwayer denied them a sharp corner kick in the build-up to the goal. Instead, the German official waved a yellow card at Van Dijk for his protests.
In a post-match interview with beIN Sports, the Dutchman sarcastically claimed that Zwayer’s bias prevented him from even shaking hands with Dutch players. He also called for more accountability for refereeing actions, saying (via Daily Mail):
“I don’t know if I should say anything about that. I said it to the Dutch media. I think it says enough that the referee went in quite quickly after the match. I didn’t have time to shake his hand. keep changing certain things, small changes that can have a big impact. Maybe it’s a good thing that they can be held accountable too. They didn’t come here to talk to you and explain themselves like we have to we’re doing something wrong.”
“I have no words for this” – Virgil van Dijk is overwhelmed with emotion after the Netherlands’ loss to England in the semi-final of EURO 2024
Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk was overwhelmed with emotion after his side’s heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to England in the EURO 2024 semi-final.
After the race, the 33-year-old claimed it was ‘bad’ to have fallen at the penultimate hurdle. He said it was difficult to digest the loss, which crushed their “big dream.”
“I have no words for this. If you give in so late, it is terrible. This hurts a lot. You give everything and if it still turns out like this, it is a shame. You have more ball possession and you want to take advantage.” of the little moments you get. It felt like we could make it 2-1. But that didn’t happen and now we are here empty-handed,” said Van Dijk (via Outlook India).
“It is what it is. The game is lost. Certain moments were clear that they should have gone our way, but they didn’t. It’s hard to accept it. It’s been a long year, a difficult year. We had a big dream.” and we felt like we could have achieved that,” he concluded.
England will play the final of the 2024 European Championship against Spain on Sunday, July 14.
Edited by Samya Majumdar
