Gelsenkirchen: Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk provided a touching moment by consoling the recently bereaved referee in his team’s game against Germany, just minutes after scoring a late equaliser to book a spot in the Nations League semis.
The Liverpool defender continued to show his class after the final whistle when he was seen comforting Romanian official Ovidiu Hategan, who recently lost his mother.
Footage showed Van Dijk embracing a tearful Hategan and putting his hand on the back of his head.
After the game, the Dutch skipper said modestly that the gesture was just “a small thing” to help the official through his bereavement, according to rt.com.
“That man broke down, stood with tears in his eyes because he had just lost his mother,” said the 27-year-old defender.
“I wished him strength and said that he had done well. It’s a small thing, but maybe it helps him,” he added.
It is reported that Hategan had opted to proceed with the game despite his recent loss, although his grief was evident as he blew up for full-time at the Veltins-Arena.
Speaking about the match, Van Dijk said it was “a fantastic feeling” to finish top of Group One ahead of European powerhouses France and the Germans. “We should all be proud of ourselves. I know I am,” he said after the Dutch join England, Switzerland and Portugal in the Nations League’s last four.
After missing out on qualifying for the finals of both Euro 2016 and this year’s World Cup, Van Dijk said the priority is to get the Dutch to the Euro 2020 finals.
Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman praised his team for turning two of their three late chances into goals. “No one expected Holland to win the group, it was a dream,” he said.
