Netherlands captain Virgil Van Dijk has criticized the officiating in Friday’s 0-0 draw against France, expressing his dissatisfaction with the disallowed goal by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Xavi Simons scored in the 69th minute, seemingly putting Ronald Koeman’s side ahead, only for the goal to be disallowed by VAR. Speaking to the press after the game, the Liverpool defender insisted that the goal should have stood.
“I thought it was a fair goal. I saw it from behind and I thought it was correct. But the referee didn’t award it and it’s a shame,” the 32-year-old said.
Van Dijk acknowledged that his team’s performance was not impressive but considered a draw to be a decent result against a strong opponent like France. He also praised Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen for his performance in the tense encounter.
“We came out well on the counter several times. A point is good. You play against France, so it’s not surprising that sometimes there are difficulties in different phases of the game. It could have been better, but at least we didn’t lose. We had to stay solid and hurt them on the counter. Verbruggen was excellent again, but so was the rest of the team. We still have it in our hands to top the group,” Van Dijk said.
