Referees’ mistakes influenced outcome of quarter of Dutch top league matches

Wrong decisions by referees in Dutch Eredivisie had direct influence on the outcome (win, loss, draw) in 41 out of 174 matches last season.

That’s the conclusion of freelance journalists Thijs Zonneveld and Fokko Ebbens, who watched all matches of the top six teams, in newspaper NRC Handelsblad. The journalists focused on goals, (not) given penalty kicks and red cards.

Mistakes by the referees in Dutch top would not lead to a different champion. Ajax Amsterdam would have even scored one more point than the team already did. Number two Feyenoord would not change position, but would have been much closer the the champions. That’s because the club from Rotterdam have been denied seven clear penalty kicks, says the journalist’s analysis.

Their conclusion: “The end result would have been slightly different when a video referee would have been used. Some teams would have played in a different qualification round for the Europa League.”