Sydney van Hooijdonk was furious with referee Allard Lindhout after PEC Zwolle's 1-1 draw with Willem II. The Zwolle striker believes he should have had a penalty shortly before half-time and told ESPN afterwards that he could not believe the decision.
A few minutes before half-time, Van Hooijdonk went to ground at a corner after Willem II midfielder Calvin Twigt pulled him back with both arms. Lindhout did not point to the spot, and VAR Richard Martens did not send the referee to the monitor.
Seeing the footage for the first time afterwards, Van Hooijdonk reacted in disbelief. "I honestly don't know what to say. I think it's absolutely outrageous. I don't know what words I'm allowed to use without getting a suspension," says the visibly frustrated striker.
Van Hooijdonk insisted he had done nothing wrong and could not understand why Lindhout had not awarded a penalty. "For me, there's absolutely no doubt. What am I doing wrong? I'm going into a challenge that a defender probably goes into a million times a match, and he pulls me right back. I honestly can't understand how this isn't a penalty."
After the incident, Van Hooijdonk spoke to Lindhout several times. The referee told him he had committed a foul first. "If that's a foul by me, then every challenge is a foul. Defenders do this in every challenge, and if you do something small as an attacker, it's a foul. I think that's very unfair," says Van Hooijdonk.
Watching the footage again did nothing to ease the PEC Zwolle striker's frustration. "This is exactly how I experienced it on the pitch. Sometimes you feel something on the pitch and then watch it back and think you experienced it differently. But this is exactly how I experienced it. Very strange," says Van Hooijdonk.
The timing particularly disappointed the striker. With the incident coming a few minutes before half-time, PEC Zwolle may have missed an excellent chance to take the lead. Van Hooijdonk had put his side 0-1 up in the second minute, but Hidde ter Avest equalised barely a minute later. "It would have been a great moment for a penalty, but it is what it is. I'll be disappointed about it today, but tomorrow we have to move on."
Van Hooijdonk also criticised the rest of the match. "I don't think you enjoyed the match with your popcorn," he says. "We're quite good at times, but once we get to the penalty area, we haven't really been dangerous enough. You simply have to win a match like that."