Coach Alexander Blessin had no nice words about arbitration in his press chat on Friday following the match against Cercle Brugge. “It’s really not going in the right direction,” Blessin began his tirade at his press conference. “So many wrong VAR decisions happen, and it really doesn’t matter if there are apologies afterwards. In the last matches it is really noticeable. For example, look at Bataille’s tackle on Machida in Antwerp. Or to the clear penalty foul on Nilsson in Genk. The fourth referee told me after two seconds that the VAR had checked it. Have you actually looked? And no one says a word about it afterwards, right? It’s not going in the right direction, and I have problems with that.”
The German then went a little further, including about the red card that Owen Wijndal received from Antwerp against first pursuer Anderlecht, which thus came on level terms with the city rivals. It is very striking that Blessin gets so angry, something that is not his habit. He said he was “relaxed”, but he clearly had something to get off his chest. Just to show that Union really doesn’t want to miss out on the title for a third time in a row.
“We hereby warn you that such statements constitute a violation of the Federal Regulations, which in particular state that the integrity of referees (including the VAR) may not be called into question by public statements in the media,” the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office ruled.
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Lazare also warned
Not only coach Blessin is being reprimanded by the national public prosecutor’s office, player Lazare is also receiving a warning. When Union scored a late equalizer against Antwerp on the final day of the regular competition, Lazare commented afterwards in his Instagram stories. “I had planned not to comment via Stories on Instagram, but really: the more we play here… they will immediately give them the three points,” Lazare wrote. “It’s the same song here every year! A red card for the opponent, the VAR who is sleeping. Really, that they should stop it,” the Ivorian sounded furious at the time.
“Freedom of expression must not lead to the honor and good name of persons and/or the organization of the federation being damaged and their integrity being called into question. The statements you have made publicly do not contribute to the debate in any way; on the contrary, they disturb the serenity,” the federal public prosecutor’s office said about the midfielder’s statements.
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Lazare’s story in question. — © Instagram
“The federal public prosecutor’s office will not prosecute, but this is a warning not to make such statements,” it added. If this is repeated, the federal public prosecutor’s office will take immediate action, which may lead to suspension and a fine. Both Blessin and Lazare get off with a warning.