Bruggink has a crystal-clear view on PSV’s Mijnans’s red card

PSV went down to ten men away at ADO Den Haag on Saturday afternoon when Sven Mijnans saw red. The forward had put the Eindhoven side ahead in spectacular fashion before picking up his second yellow card shortly before half-time. Arnold Bruggink gave ESPN a crystal-clear assessment of both fouls.

At first, PSV looked set for a straightforward afternoon in The Hague. Mijnans put the Eindhoven side ahead after 21 minutes, but picked up a booking for holding in the 38th minute. Five minutes later, a tackle that came far too late in the opposition penalty area brought a second yellow.

Speaking on ESPN, Bruggink took issue chiefly with Mijnans's first yellow card. "That's not a yellow card," the pundit said firmly. "If an attacker does that, it's an immediate yellow. But if a defender does it, it's never a yellow."

Bruggink could make little sense of the referee's decision to book Mijnans for holding. "The first one is ridiculous. I really think it's ridiculous," the former footballer stressed. He had no doubts, however, about the second yellow card.

"If you know you're on a yellow, you can never, ever make that tackle. Never," said Bruggink, who noted that Mijnans immediately realised he was in trouble. "That's a yellow card, plain and simple. There's no debate about it."

According to Jan Joost van Gangelen, Mijnans completely misjudged the situation for his second foul. The PSV player appeared to think he would reach the ball well before his opponent, but arrived far too late. "A completely wrong assessment. Incredible, really, isn't it?" Bruggink said.

Bruggink had considerable admiration, though, for the goal with which Mijnans had earlier put PSV ahead. After a fine run in behind by Guus Til, the ball fell to the forward's feet and he struck it into the far corner with his weaker foot. "Technically, that's really not an easy ball to hit. A very difficult one, with his weaker foot. A truly magnificent goal. Beautiful," Bruggink enthused.