Ghent vs Anderlecht: Analysis Dispute & Fan Division

The first fault line was just after the hour.

Kana wanted to return a simple ball, but completely missed his control. Skoras smelled his chance and seemed to be on his way to goal alone, until Kana knocked him down. Referee Laforge reached for his inside pocket, but showed (only) yellow.

“I understand why it is not red, but also why some people think so,” Kana responded in a remarkably nuanced manner after the match.

“It is a gray zone. Had Coosemans had the ball? We will never know. I understand both points of view. And yes, there was a bit of luck.”

The fact that he – the man of the phase – remained so calm contrasted with the frustration at Ghent. Max Dean was clear in his assessment.

“That should have been red. Plain and simple. The ref said he couldn’t reach the ball anymore, but everyone knows that was the case. That’s always red. Even Kana seemed surprised when he got yellow.”

As if that phase wasn’t charged enough, the match came to an explosive conclusion in minute 90+2.

A pinball moment in Anderlecht’s sixteen ended with a Ghent goal, immediately followed by a VAR check. The verdict: hands from Max Dean. No goal. No extensions.

“It all happened very quickly,” Dean told his own story. “They kicked my hand and then it was handball, but if you look at the action before it, you see that a penalty had to be called. The goalkeeper came at Skoras and knocked him over. Otherwise he could have scored,” he used another argument.

And indeed, if you look closely at the images, Coosemans knocks over his opponent in all the commotion. But was that enough for a penalty? And was Skoras able to reach the ball?

It was precisely that phase that caused the most resentment and discussion at the press conference, where Rik De Mil and Besnik Hasi sat — literally — next to each other.

De Mil remained composed, but his frustration was clear. “Look, if it’s hands, it’s hands. I have no problem with that. But one has to be consistent.”

“If a player arrives late, it is a penalty. If a goalkeeper arrives late and falls on my player, it is also a penalty. Period,” he also mentioned the situation with Coosemans.

The Ghent coach even sought dialogue with the referee afterwards. “I wanted an explanation. Respectfully. No shouting or ranting. Because only with an explanation can you possibly gain understanding.”

“The explanation was: you should stop a goalkeeper who is jumping… Yes, you should also stop a player who is tackling.”, it sounded with some irony.

Besnik Hasi sat a few centimeters next to him, but he had a completely different view of the facts. And he told it without any complexities.

“Skoras was nowhere on the ball. He never touched the ball. The ball rolled towards the goalkeeper. That was the right decision. And the hand was also correct,” he was clear.

And the men also disagreed about the course of the match. Be careful, it always remained respectful between the trainers, but the tension after the match was palpable in the room.

“By the way, I don’t agree with my colleague’s analysis,” De Mil said about the fact that Hasi said that Ghent had hardly had any chances.

“Just look at the ball on Skoras’ post. That’s an opportunity for me. Anyway, as a coach I will especially remember today that a Gent with more courage came to play here. That was important.”

The two ended the evening with a friendly handshake. “See you on Sunday,” he said. Then the two clubs will look each other in the eye again for what will undoubtedly be an exciting competition match.