ROBIN VAN PERSIE revealed that the referee APOLOGISED to him for a wrong decision at half-time of Feyenoord’s clash against Aston Villa.
Van Persie’s Dutch leaders dominated the first-half before Villa scored two second-half goals to go joint-top of the Europa League standings.
Feyenoord peppered Villa’s back-up goalkeeper Marco Bizot’s goal before seemingly opening the scoring after half an hour in Rotterdam.
Chaos ensued as Bizot almost clawed away Ayase Ueda’s header as it crossed the line.
But referee Rade Obrenovic ruled it out for a soft foul on Matty Cash, who was almost untouched by Feyenoord star Tsuyoshi Watanabe in the box during a corner.
And Feyenoord boss and Manchester United legend Van Persie said the ref got it wrong.
The former Netherlands international said: “That was a clear goal for us. The ref said sorry to me during half-time.
“I asked him, ‘can you explain what just happened because nothing happened’. Then he said sorry.
“He thought someone was blocked but he said sorry a couple of times. That’s a shame – it had a big influence on the game.”
The Slovenian ref was also called out by the TNT studio panel for another questionable decision, this time against Villa.
The man in the middle failed to upgrade his yellow card at the monitor for Anel Ahmedhodzic after a last-man swipe on Ollie Watkins inside 13 minutes.
But it was Villa who capitalised from their let-off, with Emiliano Buendia finally breaking the deadlock in the 61st minute, curling his strike into the far corner from the edge of the box.
John McGinn latched onto a loose ball in the box 17 minutes later following a brilliant run from Donyell Malen, finishing neatly into the bottom right corner to put the game to bed.
It was a chaotic game of football, matching the tone set by the unsavoury scenes on the streets of Rotterdam the night before, as Travelling Villa fans were attacked by home supporters.
The victory will be extra sweet as a result, and kept alive Villa’s 100 per cent record in Europe this season, a record far removed from their domestic form this campaign.
Unai Emery’s men have managed just one win from their opening six matches, leaving them hovering over the relegation spots in 16th.
They have a chance to capitalise on their newfound form and kick-start their Prem season as they host newly promoted Burnley on Sunday.
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