‘Don’t immediately rush to the sidelines’

Trainers, assistant coaches, goalkeeper coaches and physiotherapists should be less likely to make a fuss if they disagree with a decision by the referee. That is what former coach Guus Hiddink thinks. As chairman of the Professional Football Coaches, he made a call for this at the members meeting.

About a year and a half ago, Hiddink made more or less the same call after the cup final between Ajax and PSV.

“At the time, this mainly concerned head coaches. And referees indicate that the behavior of the head coaches has improved since then. Now it also concerns the physiotherapist, the goalkeeper coach and the assistant coaches. They have a tendency to quickly rush to the sideline “, he says on NPO Radio 1 Along the Line and Surrounding Areas.

It is doubtful whether coaches will really behave better. Approximately as many cards have already been distributed to trainers this year as in the entire last season.

“Yet the referees indicate that they now have fewer problems with the head coaches. Perhaps these figures are also because a new rule of conduct has been introduced,” says Hiddink.

Since the start of this season, referees have tolerated less contradiction. Only the captain is allowed to talk to the leader on the field. Hiddink: “That will have made the referees stand up a little more.”

Hiddink hopes his appeal works. “We also have to control ourselves and tighten the reins a little.” But he also believes that there is a role for the referees.

“Referees do not have to draw yellow cards with their chests out, it is also about communication. I told another anecdote this afternoon. When I was a trainer at Chelsea, I said to the fourth man in the first match that the referee was the worst referee in the Premier League. Then the fourth man said, laughing: ‘Then you haven’t seen me yet.’ With a comment like that you quickly put us as trainers back in the basket.”