Defend the referee or defend AZ Alkmaar keeper Esteban?
In case you missed it, things got pretty heated at the Amsterdam ArenA last night. In the 37th minute, when Ajax were up 1-nil in the Dutch Cup, an Ajax fan ran on to the pitch and attacked AZ Alkmaar goalkeeper Esteban. The Costa Rican keeper, seeing the threat of a 19-year-old hooligan coming his way, retaliated. And man did he retaliate. Esteban got two brutal kicks in on the hooligan before Ajax security held him down. The ref then decided to give Esteban a red card for the violence. AZ were furious and the match was abandoned because AZ Alkmaar manager Gert Jan Verbeek ordered his team to walk off the pitch.
To a degree, I can understand both arguments being made. The referee, who was far from where the incident occurred, probably saw a young Ajax fan already on the ground getting kicked by a professional athlete mercilessly, which is violent conduct. On the other hand, Esteban had every right to defend himself. After all, the fan (now banned for life from the stadium, by the way) could have been running with a knife. Esteban took no chances and dealt with the situation himself. Do you think the referee was in the right with his decision to send Esteban off or were the keeper’s actions justified?
It was a self defense act, I think anybody in Esteban’s position would have reacted this way but kicking the fan multiple times, I don’t know. The fans need to have respect for all the players on the pitch regardless of what team they are playing for. Verbeek made a respectable decision of walking away with his team, they were winning after all. While the referee made his decision, so did Verbeek.
carlosmore15 answered:
we have to support AZ Alkmar keeper! he was defending himself
carlosmore15 reblogged this from afootballreport
kimmmmmxx answered:
He is banned for 30 years, not for life. Nijhuis had no choice, he just followed the rules and had to sent him off.
flysophical answered:
his actions were justified for sure, the referee didn’t know anything yet he produced a red card
kickittotheman answered:
The Ref, in my opinion, made the right decision, Esteban went to far!!! A push or even just One kick would have been enough.
msplatterhead answered:
Self defense is always justified. Maybe the keeper should’ve stopped kicking after the guy fell down though. No red card!
lakavana reblogged this from afootballreport
dnkyallday reblogged this from afootballreport and added:
protect himself that crazy asshole
dnkyallday reblogged this from afootballreport
abpyuppieking answered:
Ian Walker got sent off for much less, I don’t think the keeper can complain. Also, Cantona as an example of how not to interact with a crowd
ahandfulofpopcorn reblogged this from afootballreport
nissenjc answered:
This is why soccer (football) will never be taken seriously in America. The referees are clueless.
tripfrancis answered:
I think the referee should have gotten the whole story, using replay (ah, technology), before issuing any violations punishments.
alanmckinnon reblogged this from bojan8barca and added:
I am absolutely in support of Esteban. A stupid kid came running at him and tackled him from behind. Did he go a little...
