Cercle Brugge goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki was kicked hard in the match at Eupen and is out for at least six weeks. — © BELGIUM
Cercle Brugge is on a collision course with the Referee Department. The group of dissatisfied with the functioning of the Belgian arbitration is getting more and more members. The fact that the serious foul on goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki went unpunished in Eupen on Saturday was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Cercle and the reason to file a complaint.
Koen Verdruye
Belgian arbitration is under fire more than ever. Is there more to it? In the European top 20 of teams that conceded the most penalties, no less than seven Belgian teams are in the top 20. It seems as if the Jupiler Pro League is throwing penalties. Cercle is even the European leader with thirteen penalties in 27 games.
Of the 37 goals conceded, eleven were conceded from the spot, as two penalty kicks were missed against whistled. Almost a third of the goals against are therefore penalty kicks. The question arises: are the Belgian refs stricter or the Belgian defenders rougher?
Just like with AA Gent and many other clubs, Cercle Brugge is also tired of it. “In the past, we have always approached the referees and the Referee Department in a constructive manner,” said sporting director Carlos Avina. “We understand that their work is becoming more difficult due to the speed and evolution of the game. But it is worrying that mistakes are made week after week. Mistakes that tarnish the image and reputation of our competition. That is why we are also filing a complaint with the Referee Department and we expect a clear signal,” said Avina. According to Cercle, the ref and/or the VAR have misjudged a phase no less than sixteen times this season. After the New Year, that was already the case seven times.
Cercle Westerlo (Saturday January 7)
At the start of the match, Wesli De Cremer whistled a penalty kick for a duel between Velkovksi and Westel attacker Akbunar, who went down eagerly. Chadli converts the penalty kick, but according to Cercle VAR Wim Smet should have intervened here. Smith just let it go. It happened again later in the game. Obvious mistakes on Denkey and Hotic went unpunished and the VAR did not intervene either.
KV Ostend – Cercle (Saturday January 21)
The Ostend player Ndicka comes in front of a cross, Hugo Siquet who has no eye for Ndicka and didn’t make a mistake either. Ndicka goes down anyway. Ref Lawrence Visser also saw nothing, but is called to the screen by VAR Bert Put and Ostend gets a penalty kick, converted by Ambrose.
Circle–Club (Sunday February 19)
In a duel with Ravych, Jutgla throws an elbow punch. Jonathan Lardot does not give a card and VAR Lawrence Visser does not intervene either.
Eupen – Circle (Saturday February 25)
After six minutes, the Eupense striker Gassama attacks Ravych. Only the foul is penalized, no card is dealt. Moments later it is a penalty for a slight foul by Ravych on N’Dri. The heavy tackle with the leg forward on Abu Francis’ ankle cost Baiye the exclusion. Gassama gets away well when he hits the chest of the out-run Majecki with a straight leg. The goalkeeper has to be replaced at half-time, has to go to emergency later in the evening due to shortness of breath and is out for six weeks. Ref Bram Van Driessche does not hand out a card or even a foul, VAR Boterberg does not intervene either. The inhabitant of Ostend now pays the bill for this, because he has lost his designation as the fourth ref in the cup match Antwerp – Union on Thursday evening and will be replaced by Wesli De Cremer. And so the circle is complete…
