Johan Derksen has a clear opinion on Van Bommel's foul on Bouwman

Sam Vreeswijk Johan Derksen believes the referee was right not to send Ruben van Bommel off after his heavy collision with Aaron Bouwman during Ajax v PSV. In fact, Derksen says it was not even a foul. He said that in Greetings from Grolloo. "This week I was rather irritated and astonished by the hysterical stories that emerged about the collision between PSV player Van Bommel and Ajax's Bouwman," Derksen says in the podcast. "The whole of the Netherlands are saying it was a red card." "I even saw terms like 'attempted murder'. People spoke of a disgrace and everyone was outraged. But I did not even think it was a yellow card. It was a typical collision that occurs in a contact sport." "Both players were focused on the ball, deliberately went for the ball and met each other in midfield entirely by chance and could no longer avoid each other. Nobody was at fault. It was very unpleasant to watch, but you cannot blame Van Bommel for it at all, because he did not see that player. And Bouwman did not see him. That happens in football." Derksen says Van Bommel only saw Bouwman at the very last moment. "And then he turned his shoulder into it to protect himself. And Bouwman did not see him coming at all." "It is very sad and it also looked very bad, but it was not a foul. It was an accidental collision that occurs in every contact sport. That referee, Van der Eijk, made an excellent decision." "Then I think it is a bit cheap that the referees' chief from Zeist had a big piece in De Telegraaf this morning saying that it was a red card and in fact a major mistake by that referee. That is not true. Only laymen reach that conclusion. If you have played football yourself, you understand how something like that can happen. In the whole situation I could not detect a single foul," Derksen concludes.