Vanaken vs Ref Boss: Heated Exchange

Club Brugge started the second half of the season with two painful defeats. Frustrations among the vice champion ran high. This also applies to Hans Vanaken, who was actually reprimanded by referee boss Jonathan Lardot.

The day before the trip to Kazakhstan for the crucial Champions League match against Kairat Almaty, Club resumed its campaign in its own competition with an expensive slip. For example, the vice champion lost on his own field to PhD candidate La Louvière. This allowed leader Union SG to gain three additional points in the rankings.

A big blow for the West Flemish people and only a few days after they had already suffered a serious blow. Club, as defending champion in the Croky Cup, fell on the field of Sporting Charleroi. And that defeat with serious consequences already caused a lot of frustration for Blauw-Zwart.

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Vanaken also goes beyond the pale

For example, chairman Bart Verhaeghe went home early at Mambourg, while Shandre Campbell got red because he took revenge after a foul. Christos Tzolis did well during that phase in question. He should have received a red card after a reaction against the referee. But in his weekly review, referee boss Jonathan Lardot noticed another error at that stage.

According to him, Vanaken should have received a yellow card for his complaint against the ref. However, as captain he has the right to enter into a conversation with the ref. “There is UEFA’s ‘Captain Cooperation’. The intention is that the referee and captain can hold a conversation to receive/provide explanations about certain decisions. But in a respectful manner.”

Preferably two red cards and one yellow

According to Lardot, Vanaken did not meet the latter criterion this time. “How Vanaken arrived was certainly not in a respectful manner. It was more to spit out his frustrations. It would have been a strong signal here to also give a yellow card to Hans Vanaken,” he said. DAZN. And so Club came away with ‘only’ red for Campbell and yellow for Tzolis. “I would have preferred two red cards and a yellow card. That seems strict. But if we want to be more respected and improve the level, we must also dare to make strict decisions.”