PSV beat Sparta 4-1 on Sunday evening. Even so, Armando Obispo had little sympathy for the officiating. Speaking toESPNhe said he understood little of the refereeing in the Eredivisie.
When asked whether he had turned up to play football on Sunday or wrestle, the defender burst out laughing. "A bit of both," he said. "But yes, it was not something that came unexpectedly." He was then shown footage of the fiercely contested duels.
Obispo laughed again and let out a sigh. "Well, I don't know either." The footage then showed the towering centre-back being held several times by Nick Verschuren at a set-piece before eventually being pulled to the ground.
“The referees came to visit at the start of the season and they said that when a defender only has eyes for the man and does not look at the ball and he holds on, it is a penalty," Obispo explains.
"But apparently that is not the case," said the disappointed man from Boxtel. The ESPN reporter suggested referees will have to start giving plenty of penalties in similar situations if they want to stamp out the holding.
"In the end it is up to the referee, but as I say: they come with a whole presentation at the start of the season, so I also asked Danny Makkelie at half-time," Obispo reveals. "‘You come with a whole presentation at the start of the season, then it is also important that it is carried out that way’," he said to the referee.
"Makkelie did not respond specifically to the moment itself, but he indicated that in that case it could well be a penalty, but then the ball had to come into the zone where the foul is made," explains the Curaçao international. "But I thought it was pretty much on the edge today," Obispo concludes.