Refereeing decisions in PSV against sc Heerenveen (2-0), Feyenoord against AZ (2-0) and Ajax against NEC (1-1) sparked debate this round of fixtures. In his column in the Algemeen Dagblad Sjoerd Mossou argues that officials judge the traditional top three differently from the other fifteen Eredivisie clubs.
On Sunday morning, head of refereeing Raymond van Meenen appeared on ESPN's Goedemorgen Eredivisie to discuss disputed decisions in the Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV matches.
"Why on earth had the VAR decided that Danny Makkelie had made a 'clear and obvious mistake' by awarding AZ a penalty against Feyenoord, when Mexx Meerdink had indeed been caught?" Mossou asked.
"How was it possible that neither Jorthy Mokio nor Abdellah Ouazane had been shown a red card in Ajax-NEC? And why had PSV's Armando Obispo not received a second yellow card against sc Heerenveen?"
Van Meenen used plenty of words to make his point, Mossou observed. "Because that is the inevitable side effect of VAR, even ten years after its introduction: the system creates, at most, the illusion of absolute fairness, but has only heightened the sense of injustice. No decision simply blows over. Everything sparks debate."
"The questions were pointed, Van Meenen defended himself admirably, but one thing went undiscussed on Sunday morning. Was it a coincidence that, in every significant example from Saturday evening, the home side from the 'top three' was given the benefit of the doubt?" Mossou then asked.
"Every player or manager from the clubs just below the top of Dutch football, from mid-table or from the bottom half knows the answer, of course. On crucial 50/50 decisions, Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord are often judged just a little differently from the rest, as this weekend showed once again, because referees are only human. VAR has not been able to solve that either."