I think we’ll just have to agree to disagree because in my opinion it was an officiating fiasco. De Jong avoiding a straight red with his kick to the chest without an attempt on the ball is a total fiasco.

The referee allowed the game to get out of control which is almost as bad as over officiating. But at least it’s impossible to make the argument that Spain won because of bad officiating.

I can sympathise somewhat with the perspective of the Dutch team. It was their third final and they knew they were outmatched by Spain’s tiki-taka. Still even considering that I think their actions on the pitch were disgraceful.

I did always wonder what Cruyff’s opinion of that game was and I managed to find an article from the time.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/jul/12/world-cup-f...