Antwerp coach Jonas De Roeck was unable to hide his frustration after the game against STVV. The reason was a duel in which Gyrano Church was injured after a major intervention by STVV defender Belaid.
De Roeck expressed his disappointment afterwards about the fact that the referee or the VAR was not intervened. “I looked at the moment well and it is incomprehensible that no action was taken,” De Roeck began.
He just expected red for Belaid. “Church walked towards the goal at full speed when he was brought down against his shoulder by a reckless staircase. That was no ordinary violation, it was just an attack. He had to leave the field with an injury, and that is very unfortunate for us.”
The coach indicated that the incident could have determined the game. “These are exactly those moments where you expect an intervention from the VAR,” De Roeck continued. “Perhaps the referee has not seen it, but that is not an excuse. A violation like this should be punished. It not only affects the match, but also on the player who has to drop out hurt.”
-Although the match finally ended in a 1-1 draw, De Roeck found it difficult to rejoice about that result. “A 1-1 is in itself a justified result, but I am really in it. This game could have taken a completely different turn if that violation was rated.”
With church as a injured dropout, Antwerp may face new staff problems. It is also not yet clear from Tjaronn Chery if he will make it to the match of next Sunday.
