"Sh... VAR!" - Referee rants at Video Assistant Referee

In the Dutch Eredivisie, the marquee matchup between Twente Enschede and Ajax Amsterdam (2-2) provided entertainment not only on the pitch. Referee Joey Kooij also found himself thrust into the spotlight.

No penalty after review

With Ajax leading 2-1, the referee halted a promising attack by the hosts from Enschede on the instructions of Video Assistant Referee Dennis Higler. The VAR believed he had spotted a potential handball in the penalty area and instructed Kooij to stop play immediately.

However, after reviewing the footage on the monitor himself, Kooij ruled against a punishable handball. The hosts reacted furiously, as their promising attack had been stopped for an action that was ultimately clean.

"I was hugely frustrated"

It wasn't just the Twente Enschede players who were left frustrated, though. The referee himself was annoyed by his video assistant's intervention and, on his way back to the dressing room after the final whistle, shouted: "Shit VAR!", as picked up by pitchside microphones.

"I was really, hugely frustrated about that," Kooij said when looking back on the incident in an interview with ESPN.

The hosts nevertheless managed to equalize in stoppage time through a Wout Weghorst penalty (90+5).