Danny Makkelie, the Dutch referee who did not validate a goal from Christian to Serbia In the discount that the victory would have given Portugal, he confirmed to the newspaper A Bola that he apologized for the mistake to the Portuguese coach, Fernando Santos, and to the entire Portuguese expedition.
“The only thing I can say is that I apologized to the technician, Fernando Santos, and the Portuguese team for what happened, ”said the 38-year-old Dutch referee. “As a team of referees, we always work hard to make the right decisions and when we do it this way, we are not satisfied at all,” lamented the referee.
On Saturday, in the last minute of overtime and while the two teams were tied, the Dutchman did not validate a goal for Cristiano Ronaldo when the ball had crossed the line.
Enraged, the Portuguese captain threw his armband on the grass, which earned him a yellow card. “The referee has already made public what he told me after the game, that he was ashamed and that it was a terrible mistake,” he detailed this Monday Fernando Santos at a press conference, on the eve of the match against Luxembourg, counting for the third day of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.