”I think the referee has had some bad times”he explained, pointing in particular to the five yellow cards addressed to his players, “Hannes Van der Bruggen received a card when he was simply surprised (by one of Mr. Verboomen's decisions, Editor's note). He had everything under control but ultimately handed out five more yellow cards.”
Hannes Van der Bruggen also returned to Mr. Verboomen's performance: “My yellow card is really ridiculous. I went to the corner post to take a corner kick. But I actually thought that there was a mistake in the previous phase and I held my hand in my hair. Suddenly, he drew a yellow card.”
Belgian football, seeks credibility: please send it back, urgent
But the midfielder was more shocked by the words of the match referee: “Moreover, and I think this cannot be done: I find that he cannot insult the players. No, I'm not going to repeat what he said, but it's not the first time this has happened either. This makes me very angry. I sometimes chat with the referees, but I never use bad words.”
According to information from Nieuwsblad, Nathan Verboomen would have used the word “dwaas” (which can be translated as “idiot”) against Van der Bruggen.
“That one is not to be done. Perhaps fatigue played a role because it was at the end of the match. But I find that as a referee, you have a role as an example”, concluded Van der Bruggen. The referee himself did not wish to react to the comments of the Bruges player.
