Feyenoord suffered another costly loss of points on Sunday afternoon in the battle for second place. Away at FC Volendam, Robin van Persie’s side were held to a lacklustre 0-0 draw, in a match where chances were few and far between and the standard of play was particularly low. Spectators are focusing their criticism on referee Allard Lindhout, who attracted attention with a number of controversial decisions.
The frustration among Feyenoord fans is directed partly at their own disappointing performance, but also at referee Allard Lindhout. Irritation was particularly evident in the second half.
The most talked-about moment came after 68 minutes, when Ayase Ueda was brought down by a sliding tackle in the penalty area. The ball was nowhere near and a penalty seemed justifiable, but Lindhout let play continue and the VAR, Dennis Higler, did not intervene either. It caused disbelief among Feyenoord, who had already seen a similar situation waved away earlier.
A heavy tackle on Sterling also went unpunished, although Mawouna Amevor did make partial contact with the ball. Feyenoord manager Robin van Persie had been shown a yellow card shortly before for protesting after a foul on Ueda went unpunished. The accumulation of decisions fuelled growing anger both on and off the pitch, creating a sense that Feyenoord were getting a raw deal from the refereeing.
Criticism of the referee is pouring in on social media. Viewers are calling it ‘scandalous refereeing’ and pointing to several moments where, in their view, Feyenoord should have been awarded a penalty, with the role of VAR official Higler also coming under heavy criticism.
“Feyenoord are terrible themselves, but Lindhout is just awful. Clear-cut penalties. Time and time again,” reads a comment on X. Another supporter writes: “If Lindhout doesn’t see it, you’ve got VAR, but apparently that doesn’t do anything either.”
On FR12, there is also widespread anger about Feyenoord’s performance. “83 minutes and two shots on target against Volendam,” reads one telling comment. There is also harsh criticism of the coaching staff: “With this manager, you know it’s rubbish and it’ll never amount to anything,” whilst another sighs: “I’ve been a supporter since 1970, but this is an eyesore.”
Another says on X: “They should force Lindhout to stop; this is really unacceptable.”