Virgil van Dijk slams referee Felix Zwayer and demands 'more accountability' after England vs Netherlands Euro 2024 clash
Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk slammed referee Felix Zwayer who was in charge of their Euro 2024 semi-final against England on Wednesday, July 10. The Liverpool star claimed there's an urgent need for more accountability for officials' decisions and actions in a game.
The Netherlands, who lost 2-1, took an early lead through Xavi Simons' stunning strike in the seventh minute. However, a few minutes later, the game's first controversial moment arrived, offering England a lifeline.
Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries put his leg up to knee-level to block Harry Kane's short-range volley. The Bayern Munich striker naturally caught the former in the follow-through of his shot and fell to the ground. England were awarded a penalty after a VAR check. Kane duly converted the resultant spot-kick to equalize in the 18th minute.
Another controversy erupted after England substitute Ollie Watkins scored the winner in the 90th minute. The Netherlands believed that Zwayer denied them a clear-cut corner in the build-up to the goal. Instead, the German official brandished a yellow card at van Dijk for his protests.
In a post-match interview with beIN Sports, the Dutchman sarcastically claimed that Zwayer's bias deterred him from even shaking the hands of the Netherlands' players. He also called for more answerability for refereeing actions, saying (via Daily Mail):
"I don't know if I should say something about that. I said it to the Dutch media. I think it says it all that the referee went in quite quickly after the game. I had no time to shake his hand. They keep changing certain things, small changes that could have a big impact. Maybe it's a good thing that they could be held accountable as well. They didn't come here and speak to you and explain themselves like we have to when we do something wrong."
"I have no words for this" - Virgil van Dijk gets overwhelmed with emotion after Netherlands' loss to England in EURO 2024 semi-final
Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk was overwhelmed with emotion after his side's heart-breaking 2-1 loss to England in the semi-final of EURO 2024.
After the game, the 33-year-old claimed that it 'sucked' to have fallen at the penultimate hurdle. He said it was tough to digest the loss, which crushed their 'big dream'.
"I have no words for this. When you concede so late, it's terrible. This hurts a lot. You give it your all and if it still turns out like that, it sucks. You have more possession, and you want to take advantage of the little moments you get. It felt like we could make it 2-1. But that didn't happen, and now we're standing here empty-handed," Van Dijk said (via Outlook India).
"It is what it is. The game is lost. Certain moments were obvious they should have gone our way, but they didn't. It's difficult to accept it. It's been a long year, a tough year. We had a big dream and we felt we could have achieved that," he concluded.
England will face Spain in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday, July 14.