Dusan Tadic is taking heavy flak on social media during Willem II v NEC. The 37-year-old forward for the Nijmegen side made little impression in a difficult first half and is coming in for particular criticism over an incident in the 22nd minute.
NEC struggled from the start and for a long spell barely laid a glove on Willem II's defence. The home side created the first danger in the fifth minute from a quick break, while NEC did not manage their first shot until after 35 minutes, when Adam Tahaui aimed straight at goalkeeper Karst de Leeuw.
Up front, Tadic could barely make his mark in the first half either. One viewer is annoyed by a moment in which, in his view, the Serbian waits too long before pulling the trigger himself: "Tadic really needs to learn to shoot earlier himself."
Most of the attention, though, is on an incident in the 23rd minute when Tadic went to ground after minimal contact and appealed emphatically for a penalty. On X, many viewers are convinced there was barely anything in it. "A yellow card for Tadic would have been appropriate here. He misses the ball completely and then just turns it into a dive," Arthur writes.
Others also feel the forward should have been punished. "Incomprehensible that Tadic does not get a yellow card for enormously bad acting. What a disgraceful dive," reads one reaction, while another writes: "You should simply give Tadic a yellow for this. A ridiculously bad dive."
Elsewhere, the former Ajax forward's display is stirring up old irritations among viewers. "Tadic hasn't lost it yet. Twenty minutes played and already the dying swan three times," one comment says, while someone else writes cynically: "Disgraceful foul on Tadic!"
Nor is the criticism limited to the penalty incident itself. "Hello NEC, do you want to stamp those 'world star' mannerisms out of Tadic very quickly?" one viewer wonders, while another says: "Tadic is the laughing stock of the day. What a dive, you should have given a yellow for that. What a clown."