The assistant referee, that ruled out Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal against Serbia has been dropped from the Netherland’s officiating team for Euro 2020.
Ronaldo was denied a last-minute winning goal by Mario Diks in Portugal’s 2022 World Cup qualifying clash with Serbia which ended in a 2-2 draw.
Match referee, Danny Makkelie who publicly apologised for the mistake made in the game, confirmed that Diks has now been excluded from his set-up ahead of this summer’s European Championship.
He revealed that Jan de Vries has been drafted in to replace Diks, but could not say whether the assistant’s error during the Portugal vs Serbia fixture led to his dismissal.
“It is true that Jan de Vries has taken over the position of Mario Diks in the team,” Makkelie added to Omrop Fryslan.
“It’s a team issue. Out of respect for Mario, but also in the interest of the team, we are not making any statements about the reason for the change.”
Diks confirmed the news to Omrop Fryslan, while also expressing his frustration over the final decision after many years of service which included last year’s Europa League final and Club World Cup semi-finals.
“This is a very, very big disappointment for me so close to the European Championship,” he said.
“On Wednesday, March 31, I heard from Makkelie that he wants to continue with another assistant, because the confidence in our collaboration has gone.
“I was really hoping for more support, understanding and trust after the successful collaboration over the years.”
