Wesley Sneijder believes that Jordan Henderson made a very foolish decision with his yellow card in the Europa League match between Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt. The Englishman was booked near the end of the game for an outburst directed at referee Simone Sozza, resulting in his suspension for the return leg.
Wesley Sneijder and Theo Janssen Are Stunned by the Yellow Card Received by Ajax Captain Jordan Henderson
Henderson lost his composure after the Italian referee blew the whistle for a foul by Oliver Edvarsen on Nnamdi Collins. The midfielder totally disagreed with the decision and vented his frustration at Sozza. Henderson made a dismissive gesture, prompting the referee to immediately pull out the yellow card from his pocket.
Post-match, Henderson acknowledged his mistake, but Janssen and Sneijder were equally critical. “This is simply really foolish,” Janssen remarked on Ziggo Sport. “You’re basically letting your team down with such a silly yellow card. If you get booked for a tactical foul that prevents a dangerous counter, that’s one thing. But Farioli’s reaction, who was furious at Henderson, says it all. It was a dismissive gesture, and quite extreme, in my opinion.”
Host Wytse van der Goot believes that, as a captain, Henderson has some leeway to speak up, but Sneijder thinks Henderson overstepped. “You do have a bit more freedom as a captain. You’re allowed to communicate with the referee, but making a dismissive gesture and saying fuck-off is not acceptable. We all saw it.”
Sneijder considers Henderson’s actions to be just plain stupid. “He admitted it himself: that was incredibly stupid. That is simply unacceptable. If someone did this at PSV when they were 7-1 down, it wouldn’t matter as much. I could understand not wanting to travel to London under those circumstances. But in this context, it’s simply inexcusable, particularly as the team captain. It’s almost enough to make me frustrated.”
