Defend the referee or defend AZ Alkmaar keeper Esteban?
Defend the referee or defend AZ Alkmaar keeper Esteban?
Defend the referee or defend AZ Alkmaar keeper Esteban?
In case you missed it, things got pretty heated at the Amsterdam ArenA last night. In the 37th minute, when Ajax were up 1-nil in the Dutch Cup, an Ajax fan ran on to the pitch and attacked AZ Alkmaar goalkeeper Esteban. The Costa Rican keeper, seeing the threat of a 19-year-old hooligan coming his way, retaliated. And man did he retaliate. Esteban got two brutal kicks in on the hooligan before Ajax security held him down. The ref then decided to give Esteban a red card for the violence. AZ were furious and the match was abandoned because AZ Alkmaar manager Gert Jan Verbeek ordered his team to walk off the pitch.
To a degree, I can understand both arguments being made. The referee, who was far from where the incident occurred, probably saw a young Ajax fan already on the ground getting kicked by a professional athlete mercilessly, which is violent conduct. On the other hand, Esteban had every right to defend himself. After all, the fan (now banned for life from the stadium, by the way) could have been running with a knife. Esteban took no chances and dealt with the situation himself. Do you think the referee was in the right with his decision to send Esteban off or were the keeper’s actions justified?
