The Spanish defender Carles Puyol should have been the first player to be sent off by the referee Howard Webb, according to Arjen Robben after his Holland side lost the World Cup final 1-0 against Spain.
Puyol, already booked in the first half, committed a foul on the Dutch winger with 10 minutes remaining when he sped past him but Robben stayed on his feet and was denied by goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
"When I got my second chance the referee should have given us a free kick and Puyol a second yellow card," Robben said. "He gave the advantage but there was none as I could hardly move and the goalkeeper was too close already."
After beating Brazil in the quarter-final, Robben was widely criticised for diving but in the final he stood firm instead of making clear to the referee that he had been fouled.
"As a player you always want to go on and especially 10 minutes before time in a World Cup final when you are heading towards the goal," he added.
The Dutch said they were less than impressed with the referee's performance during the final. Webb showed eight Holland players yellow cards and sent off their defender John Heitinga in the first half of extra time.
"When you play a World Cup final you need also a world class referee and – I have to be careful what I say – this was not the case for this match," Robben said.
However, the winger was lucky himself not to be dismissed after deliberately playing on after the whistle had blown for an infringement. It would have been his second yellow card but Webb simply admonished him.
Webb, however, was today hailed for his performance by his wife, Kay. She said she thought the 38-year-old Yorkshireman was "brilliant" and added: "I have every confidence in him."
The Holland captain, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, chose not to criticise Webb and said that his players should be proud of what they achieved at the World Cup.
Van Bronckhorst, the former Arsenal, Rangers and Barcelona defender, was playing his final game for his country before joining the coaching staff at Feyenoord. "To give up a goal four minutes from the end means we were so close but still so far away," said the 35-year-old. "But I'm glad that I achieved this [playing in a World Cup final] but the disappointment at the way the tournament ended makes it difficult right now. But we can be proud of what we have done.
"If we had scored first it could have been a different ending. You don't get many chances against Spain and it was disappointing not to have scored from at least one of the two chances we had."
