Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has become the centre of a controversy in the Netherlands, with members of the Dutch media sharing their strong opinions on one moment during Villa’s clash with Ajax.
Ollie Watkins made some people in Holland rather unhappy after Aston Villa’s 4-0 win over Ajax last Thursday.
Unai Emery watched on as his side dismantled the Eredivisie outfit in the second leg, scoring four goals to win the tie and progress into the quarter-final of the Europa Conference League.
While everyone associated with Villa was delighted to see the club venture into the next round, members of the Dutch media were left seething with the contest, and surprisingly not because of the one-sided scoreline.
Dutch media unhappy with one Aston Villa decision v Ajax
The first leg of the tie between the Villans and Ajax saw two players sent off, added to in the return fixture at Villa Park as the visitors went down to 10 just after the hour mark.
While three red cards over 180 minutes of football is way above the average, Dutch media hold the strong belief that there should have been a fourth over the tie.
As relayed by Voetbalzone, former Brighton defender Hans Kraay was left perplexed by the referee’s decision not to send off Watkins in the first half at Villa Park, when speaking on Goedemorgen Eredivisie.
“I think this is one of the biggest scandals of recent months. It is truly incredible.”
“We know that things are difficult at Ajax but if you can go up against a 10-man Aston Villa after 15 minutes, you have a chance.”
Ollie Watkins was punished for the incident against Ajax
The foul that Kraay was describing was the clash between Watkins and Ajax goalkeeper Diant Ramaj.
Villa’s talisman was not only booked for clattering into the German shot-stopper but was eventually forced to withdraw from the fixture due to the cut he sustained in the collision.
The vexed narrative behind Kraay’s argument comes as Watkins netted the opening goal minutes after the event, taking Villa 1-0 up in the tie that ended at 4-0.
The Dutch presenter and former player is entitled to his opinion, as the England international instigated the messy clash however, the 28-year-old did come out of the duel worse off.
While Ajax may have had an advantage if Watkins was sent off in the 19th minute, the direction of the fixture was very much decided by the hosts, who rocked the Eredivisie outfit by four goals in a dominant display.
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