Our house ref Tim Pots defends arbitration after the opening day of the play-offs: “Both Burgess and Wijndal deserved red”

Our house ref Tim Pots defends arbitration after the opening day of the play-offs: “Both Burgess and Wijndal deserved red” | Sport

First weekend of play in the Champions’ Play-offs, first fuss about referee decisions. “Both Burgess and Wijndal deserved red,” our house ref Tim Pots explains.

LOOK. Pots about the red cards of Burgess and Wijndal

The play-offs started with two red cards that did not go unnoticed. On Saturday evening there was that of Owen Wijndal after a slight headbutt against Thorgan Hazard, one day later Christian Burgess was excluded after he suddenly threw the ball in the face of Genk striker Tolu Arokodare in the final phase. Two justified decisions according to ex-referee Tim Pots, who took note of the regulations.

First of all, the exclusion of Christian Burgess: “Deliberately kicking or throwing an object (or the ball) onto the playing field deserves the exclusion,” says Pots. “The regulations require a red card for ‘violent behavior’ if it was done with excessive force. When the face is hit, that excessive force is not even necessary. Unless the force used was negligible, then the player should always be excluded.” Burgess deliberately threw the ball in Tolu’s face and was rightly sent off the field.

LOOK. Burgess gets red after throwing the ball into Tolu’s face

The exclusion was also appropriate for Wijndal: “He makes a head movement and hits Hazard’s face. That contact does not have to be forceful to justify the exclusion if the face is hit. I do wonder whether this would have simply been over if Hazard had not lay down. Ultimately, the contact with his face was only visible from one camera angle. If there is no victim or commotion, VAR will not check all camera angles. Now they have, as it should be. So good VAR work.”