The Dutch Pol van Boekel, VAR referee, is again the star for the third season in a row. in the Champions League matches of Real Madrid or FC Barcelona, because of his corrective intervention by the field referee, or because of his suppression of what his teammates decided on the pitch.
1
LEIPZIG-R. MADRID 2023-24
In seconds he endorsed the annulment 1-0
This Tuesday, in the first leg of the round of 16 that faced the white team against Leipzig in Germany, in a match that ended 0-1, Van Boekel’s VAR decided in a few seconds that there was no reason to doubt the assessment of Bosnian assistant Irfan Peljto, main field referee. The referee and linesman understood that Henrichs was in positional offside and at the same time he participated in the game by interfering with Lunin, the Madrid goalkeeper, in Benjamin Sesko’s goal, which would have been 1-0. The match ended 0-1 for Real Madrid.
2
BAYERN-BARÇA 2022-23
Penalty to Dembélé who did not see the referee on TV
Dutchman Danny Makkelie, at Bayern-Barça in last season’s Champions League group stage, failed to notice local full-back Alphonso Davies’ tackle on visiting winger Ousmane Dembélé inside the German area. Barça’s protests were fruitless, because from the VAR room, along with Van Boekel, did not warn about the existence of the violation and the subsequent penalty. The match ended 2-0 in favor of Bayern.
3
INTER-BARÇA 2023-24
He warned through Ansu, not through Dumfries
In last season’s Inter Milan-Barça group stage match, Van Boekel was again the star and scored twice, the first with an intervention, the second with an interception. Slovenian Slavko Vincic, main field referee, awarded Barça goal in the 65th minute by Pedri for Barça, but Van Bockel’s VAR cautioned him, alerting him that the ball was lightly and accidentally hit Ansu Fati’s hand in action immediately before the Barça midfielder’s shot. In the 92nd minute, however, neither Vincic nor Van Bockel found Inter’s Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries without a hand in the Italian area. In that case, the Dutchman in the VOR room did not inform his colleague on the lawn. Inter won that match 1-0.
4
R. MADRID-PSG 2021-22
Benzema, to clash with Donnarumma
Second leg match of the 2021-22 Champions League round of 16 at the Bernabéu between Real Madrid and PSG. In the 60th minute, and with a combined two goals in the tie for the French team, Real Madrid scored a short-lived 1-1 after Karim Benzema, the attacker of Madrid, fought and won the clash in the small place the ball on PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Dutch, Danny Makkelie, field referee, understood that there was no foul in that altercation. From the VOR room, Van Boekel was unable to correct that assessment and the goal went up on the scoreboard. Real Madrid won 3-1 and eliminated PSG. Mauricio Pochettino, coach of PSG, said after the game that it was “unbelievable that VAR did not see the foul on Donnarumma.”
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
