Head of referees Raymond van Meenen appeared on Goedemorgen Eredivisie on Sunday morning during referees' week to explain several controversial decisions from this round of matches. He also revisited the incident between Ruben van Bommel and Aaron Bouwman.
After Van Bommel's forceful shove, referee Sander van der Eijk and video assistant referee Pol van Boekel decided a yellow card was the right punishment. Van Meenen promptly told the media they had got it wrong.
Van Boekel took issue with that. "I analysed the situation based on the criteria we apply, and I would probably do exactly the same thing again today," the VAR on duty said at the time to De Limburger.
"But if your boss says in the media that you've made a mistake, what is there left for me to say? It was his choice to use those words. I would have handled it differently."
Van Meenen said on Sunday morning on Goedemorgen Eredivisie. that Van Boekel has since shifted his position somewhat. "We spoke to Van Boekel last Wednesday. He said: looking back, I should have intervened and had the referee go to the side of the pitch," Van Meenen revealed.
Armando Obispo
One decision questioned this weekend was the failure to give Armando Obispo a second yellow card after he illegally stopped a promising Heerenveen attack.
According to Van Meenen, not showing a red card was the right call. "You can see the ball really bounces twenty metres away from his foot. That means it is no longer a promising attack. So this is a foul, but for us it is not a second yellow card."
Meerdink penalty
In the match between Feyenoord and AZ, the video assistant referee also played a central role, overturning a penalty awarded to Mexx Meerdink. "I have to say, if you watch this footage at normal speed, it is a penalty, as the referee decided at the time."
But Van Meenen praised the video assistant referee's decision, based on the judgement that Meerdink had already begun to fall before Tjark Ernst stepped on his foot. "I can completely understand why the VAR did this," the head of referees said.