He’s a man who has made soccer history — but not in the way he would have wanted.
Willem II midfielder Anouar Kali became the first player to be sent off on the intervention of a video referee in a high level professional competition following a challenge on Lasse Schone in a KNVB Cup tie at Ajax Amsterdam.
On-pitch referee Danny Makkelie initially booked Kali for his 60th-minute challenge on Schone.
But within seconds that decision was overturned by video official Pol van Boekel, who was watching the action on six screens in a van outside the Amsterdam Arena.
Van Boekel contacted Makkelie via headset to tell him the punishment should have been a straight red card — and Kali was immediately banished.
His dismissal came in the first of two KNVB Cup matches at which video technology is being trialed.
With Willem II already 2-0 behind in the first-round tie, their hopes of a revival were over and they ended up crashing to a 5-0 defeat.
Confusion
Makkelie’s apparent change of heart over Kali’s punishment confused fans at the Amsterdam Arena, who had not been aware that a video referee would be part of the match officiating.
And speaking to reporters after the game, Van Boekel said he hoped “there will be some communication with the public in the future — they have a right to it.”
Video refereeing will be tested again in Thursday’s match between Feyenoord and Oss, when Van Boekel will referee on the pitch with Makkelie taking his place as monitor of the action on the screens.
The video officiating system is permitted for decisions on sending offs, penalties and goals involving possible fouls or offside to be corrected if they are wrong.
But neither players nor managers are allowed to request intervention following an incident.
A spokesman for the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) told CNN it had received permission from the International Football Association Board to employ the technology in this pair of matches but hoped it could be used in future cup ties.
Advocate
The Dutch governing body has been an advocate of video technology, which was also used when France beat Italy in a friendly in Bari earlier this summer.
In a statement earlier this week the KNVB said: “Was it really a penalty? An offside goal? An offense that is worth a red card?
“For the TV viewer is easy to judge, presented with numerous replays to help them reach a decision. The referee has always had to do without those tools. Until now.”
The use of the technology, it said, meant that “for the first time there is a live test at a match in an official competition at the highest level.”
It added that the Ajax and Feyenoord grounds had been chosen because they had the necessary infrastructure for video technology to be easily set up.
