Jürgen Klopp's debut triggers van der Vaart criticism of Ball‑Aus
In the stadium in Amsterdam, a tense atmosphere prevailed after the 1:1 draw between Germany and the Netherlands. Heated discussions erupted when national team coach Jürgen Klopp, in his debut, defended the controversial ball‑out decision – van der Vaart called the incident a disgrace.
Klopp defends decision
Klopp explained in an interview with RTL that the misunderstanding—that spectators expected the ball to be played out—would persist for another hundred years. He emphasized that the German team had acted correctly.
The incident began when the Dutch centre‑forward Brian Brobbey went to the ground and was injured. Despite being outnumbered, the Oranje, the Germans kept playing and deliberately avoided playing the ball out.
Dutch criticism
Xavi, the new coach of Bonds, described the situation as a mix of cleverness and lack of fair play. He criticized that referee Alejandro Jose Hernandez Hernandez already had the whistle in his mouth while some players stopped the game, adding: “It wasn’t a big deal either.”
Former referee Manuel Gräfe confirmed that, technically, everything was correct, but that a stoppage would be required for head or serious injuries. He recalled that in a friendly match the ball would be played out, but in a competitive match the procedure is legitimate – “You don’t make friends that way, but it is professional sport.”
Shame, Klopp – Kimmich and van Dijk argue over Germany's opening goal
Rafael van der Vaart, former Dutch international, called the Germans’ continuation of play unsporting and shouted: “An absolute disgrace.”
Joshua Kimmich replied calmly: “We continued playing completely justified.” He added that a stoppage would have been the referee’s decision and that he had not heard a whistle. Van Dijk had called the German continuation a disgrace, to which Kimmich responded that this was not a reflective answer.
Late scenes and absences
After the opening goal, Klopp had to remove Kai Havertz from the pitch because of a strain in his rear thigh. Jamal Musiala could not start after muscular problems in the warm‑up; both are, according to Klopp, undergoing MRI scans, and he hopes a diagnosis will be made later this evening to assess their availability for the match against Greece on Sunday.
How the press judges Klopp after his Amsterdam debut
In stoppage time, Cody Gakpo equalised for the Netherlands after Ruben van Bommel delivered a precise outside‑foot cross to Gakpo. Klopp joked that the young van Bommel had inherited the talent from his mother, not his father.
Another controversial incident involved the goal initially credited to Virgil van Dijk, which was overturned after VAR due to a obstruction of goalkeeper Marc‑Andre ter Stegen by Brian Brobbey. Van der Vaart repeated his condemnation and called the handling an absolute disgrace.