Foto: MaxSport screenshot
The derby ended 1:1, Šego and Hoxha shared the points, but everything else went to Patrik Kolarić. Maksimir was burning with nervousness, and Studio SuperSport HNL received material for the entire show. Joško Jeličić and Hrvoje Vejić did not choose their words, and objectively, it was difficult to choose after such chaos. “I think that Kolarić is a talented referee, but he has no feeling for a game of this weight. There is no feeling that they reduce everything to a level that makes everyone happy. I’m sure the guest hasn’t had a trial like this for a long timeJeličić began, hitting the very essence of the problem, Kolarić didn’t lose the game, but control over it. And when the referee loses his rhythm, the derby falls apart. That’s what happened.
Vejić was somewhat milder, but the message was clear: “Mistakes were made, VAR corrected them. There was no harm to anyone. We must know that if there was no VAR, Dinamo would have won this match.“ And there, in fact, the whole story was summed up in two sentences. The referee was making wrong decisions, VAR was putting out fires, players were shooting at the seams, and anger was felt in the stands. Dinamo’s fans claim that they were “massacred”, Hajduk’s claim that the penalty was fake, and in the end it turns out that everyone is dissatisfied, which is perhaps the most accurate definition of Kolarić’s performance.
The derby was supposed to be the highlight of the round. Instead it turned into a case study of how one callous referee can sap the pace, charm and normal flow of a game. VAR saved the result, but not the impression. And the impression is very simple: until Kolarić realizes that the derby is not an ordinary Saturday afternoon game, scenarios like this will be the rule, not the exception.
