BBC World Cup coverage stopped due to an ‘unacceptable’ incident during the Netherlands vs Tunisia match
The World Cup Group F match between the Netherlands and Tunisia had a brief pause because of a surprising moment. The Netherlands won 3-1 against Tunisia, who were already out of the tournament, and finished top of Group F with seven points from nine.
The game started off fast with an own goal by Tunisia’s Ellyes Skhiri just three minutes in, giving the Netherlands a 1-0 lead. Then, Brian Brobbey scored again four minutes later, making it seem like the Netherlands would have a big win. But Tunisia fought back, with Hazem Mastouri scoring their second goal of the tournament in the 54th minute. Later, new Spurs player Jan Paul van Hecke scored to bring the score to 3-1, securing the win for the Dutch team.
The Netherlands will now play Morocco, the runners-up from Group C, in the round of 32 on June 29 in Guadalupe, Mexico.
Before the second half began, there was an unusual moment. Only 10 Tunisia players came out to start the half because Skhiri, who had scored the own goal, was missing. The referee, Katia Itzel Garcia, on her first World Cup game, spotted this and stopped the match. She had to explain to some confused players that Skhiri wasn’t on the field. Within 20 seconds, Skhiri ran out of the tunnel to join his teammates, though the crowd in Kansas City booed him.
The match was on the BBC, where commentator Steve Wilson said, “The Tunisia player was trying to get the referee’s attention because they only had 10 players on the pitch.” Co-commentator Stephen Warnock added, “How did this happen? It’s unbelievable. The clock is running down, you have to get out fast.” He also mentioned how the Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman was really angry, calling it “unacceptable.”
Tunisia’s coach, Herve Renard, is well-known for leading different African and Asian teams at World Cups. He didn’t start the tournament as Tunisia’s coach but took over after their big loss to Sweden. Renard has coached at several World Cups before, including Angola in 2010, Ivory Coast in 2014, Morocco in 2018, and Saudi Arabia in 2022. Interestingly, he was sacked by Saudi Arabia just before this World Cup, replaced by Greek coach Georgios Donis, who used to play in English clubs like Blackburn Rovers and Huddersfield Town.