The UEFA Nations League A match between Germany against Netherlands have been drew attention because of the tears of referee, Ovidiu Hategan, and had been hugged by Netherland defender, Virgil van Dijk.
The unique event in the match which ended in a 2-2 draw at the Veltins Arena Stadium on Monday (19/11), also invited the supporters to emotion on social media.
Later, it was only discovered by a number of people that the referee were crying uncontrollably when leading the match. Hategan seems to have just grieved because his mother passed away. Tragically, he got the news of this sadness at the break after the first half of the match.
Van Dijk, who knew the deep sadness of Hategan, tried to show his sympathy. The Liverpool defender approached then hugged the referee who was still in tears after the game ended. In the pictures and videos uploaded by supporters on social media, Hategan seemed to still cry when embraced by Van Dijk. He then seemed to appreciate the action of the 27-year-old player.
“Based on reports from Romania, Ovidiu Hategan got tragic news at the half of the match,” wrote one Twitter accouont
Many supporters also expressed their sympathy for the referee, including praising Van Dijk’s sympathetic attitude.
“I think the strength shown by referee Ovidiu Hategan last night was incredible. He was referee of Germany vs The Netherlands and found out his mother had passed at half time. It’s easy sometimes to forget that the referees are also human and he deserves immense credit for carrying on,” wrote one of the Twitter accounts @TheManUtdWay.
Although the Netherlands qualified for the final stage of the UEFA Nations League, Van Dijk still gave sympathy to Hategan who cried because his mother passed. That attitude made people praise the Reds players.
“The referee had just left by his mother. He was very grieved with tears in his eyes. I hope he stays strong while praising his excellent leadership in this match. That might be just a small thing, but hopefully it can help him a little,” Van Dijk admitted to Sky Sports.
Hategan is arguably one of the best Romanian referees at the moment. The 38-year-old man led the Champions League match between Barcelona versus Inter Milan this season. He has also refereed the 2017 Europe League semi-final second leg between Manchester United and Celta Vigo.
