In a press conference after Holland's Euro semifinal loss to England, Dutch manager Ronald Koeman was scathing in his criticism of the referee's whistle blowing, particularly in response to the involvement of the VAR (Video Assistant Referee).
Koeman pointed to the controversial penalty call in the game as a typical problem with VAR. He argued that it wasn't a penalty because Dumfries touched Kane's shoe while trying to block the ball, rather than committing a deliberate foul. Koeman emphasized that the intervention of VAR has affected, if not "ruined", soccer matches with such unnecessary penalties.
Koeman further said that he felt that the referee was overly strict in blowing for minor things throughout the game. He cited the example that if an England player fell down in his country's home game, the referee might not blow for a foul so easily, but today a different standard was applied to the Dutch team. Koeman believes that this inconsistent standard of penalization is unfair to the Dutch team.
However, Koeman also admitted that the referee's decision was not the reason why the Dutch lost the game. He admitted that England scored a brilliant second goal, which was the key to them winning the game. However, Koeman still believes that at certain moments, the referee blew too easily for situations that were not fouls, which affected the game to a certain extent.
