Heerenveen manager Robin van Persie was left frustrated after match officials mistakenly allowed Fortuna Sittard to have 12 players on the pitch against his team on Saturday in the Eredivisie.
The incident happened in the 88th minute, with Heerenveen leading 2-1. Fortuna made a double substitution, with Ryan Fosso and Jasper Dahlhaus coming off and Darijo Grujcic and Owen Johnson coming on. However, Dahlhaus didn’t leave the pitch and continued playing for nearly a minute.
Van Persie noticed the extra player and protested from the sidelines until Dahlhaus finally left the field. A minute later, Fortuna scored from a corner to equalise, denying Heerenveen all three points.
“I find what happened before that goal very strange,” Van Persie said after the match. “Fortuna Sittard had 12 players on the field for a minute before that throw-in. Apparently, that’s allowed. Can you imagine that? It’s just allowed.”
“Normally, I never speak to referees and always let them do their job, but you can’t play with twelve men. It’s unthinkable. So I asked the fourth official, ‘Shouldn’t you do something about that?’”
When asked what he thought should happen, Van Persie said: “For example, reverse that goal. You can’t play with twelve men against eleven. I really can’t understand it. I think it’s really scandalous.”
The former Manchester United and Arsenal forward became Heerenveen’s manager in May last year. His team are currently 10th in the Eredivisie after 21 games.
