Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers spoke to the NOS upon his arrival back in the Netherlands after refereeing at Euro 2016.
- By James Rowe
The Dutchman voiced his professional disappointment in not being selected to take charge of the final in Paris on July 10th.
Kuipers said, “I would have preferred to stay in France for another week with my team and be in charge of the final on the 10th July it was a surprise for me and my team when we received the news . We were appointed for 3 great games Germany v Poland, Spain v Croatia and Iceland v France.
”We had a goal to be in charge of the final of a tournament that consists of 48 games and that is a lot in comparison with the last European Championship in 2012 which only consisted of 31 games. The refereeing is at a high level and all referees are driven to take charge of the final which is in turn good for UEFA as it creates internal competition.
”We can only look back on a very successful tournament I am very proud of my team and what we have achieved together during Euro 2016.
”Looking ahead to the World Cup in Russia in 2018 we must take small steps we have only just returned from Euro 2016. We are now going on holiday with the families and then looking ahead to a new season in the Eredivisie and international competition.”
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