After he had ‘led’ Feyenoord – PSV, Bas Nijhuis was wagging his tail in a football talk show on Monday. The analysts were praising Nijhuis and his way of leading the match. Nijhuis, in his turn, was very keen to explain how proud of himself he was. He was really, really, REALLY convinced of his own abilities. It was extremely different this Monday, after he had butchered FC Groningen – Ajax. Suddenly, he was the most criticized ref in the country, and I wonder what took everyone so long.
The major compliment Nijhuis received, was about the way he ‘kept Feyenoord-PSV flowing’. In Holland, this is called ‘British refereeing’, which essentially means the referee never blows his whistle for anything, because he wants to keep the game going without killing it by fouling everybody for everything. The English readers among you might be thinking something: and you are correct.
Why would anyone – ever – want to be like English referees?
English referees f*cking suck! They’re slightly better than the Spanish, but they don’t have a clue. Literally the only redeemable thing British referees have going for them, is that they are willing to add eight minutes at the and of a half (ironically, the only trait Nijhuis hasn’t copied off of them). By not handing out fouls to everyone all the time, they end up missing so much. Just as Nijhuis did in Rotterdam and Groningen.
Van Ginkel was injured after a foul Nijhuis missed, Bryan Linssen scored after a foul Nijhuis missed, Sánchez should have gotten a penalty, but Nijhuis missed the foul. Keeping the game flowing is a very noble goal for a referee, but a foul is a foul. Nijhuis has completely lost in in that aspect, and it sort of costed us three points.
It goes without saying that Ajax should have won the game regardless, but disappointed themselves and the fans by playing like sh*t. However, dismissing Nijhuis’ involvement in the game by pointing to Onana’s mistake or the lack of protest from the players is beyond laughable. He played a part. A crucial part. And in this season, every decision counts. We could have been two points (or a victory in De Klassieker) away from first place. Now it’s four, and we still have to pray for Feyenoord to be sh*t.
So, please Bas, tone it down a little bit. I get what you are trying to do, but right now: you suck at it. The only positive about his performance last Sunday is the following: a referee isn’t allowed to be in charge of the same team twice in four weeks in the Eredivisie. Which means Nijhuis won’t be in charge of De Klassieker.