From spicy transfer to alleged death threats: how the third division match came under high tension

Back to mid-April. In RWDM Girls-Mazenzele Opwijk, a competition in Interprovincial A – the third level for women – little is at stake for the visitors, who are already certain of being retained. RWDM Girls, which operates completely separately from the men’s department of the Molenbeek club, still plays for the final round and promotion to the first division.

Fifteen minutes before the end, the visitors receive a penalty with a 0-0 score. The first attempt is missed, but because the referee has seen that the RWDM goalkeeper has come off her line too quickly, a second penalty follows. It will go in. The RWDM players are not satisfied and are seeking redress from the referees. After a few minutes of commotion, during which RWDM received two yellow cards and a red card, the referee suddenly blew the whistle on the match. According to Mazenzele Opwijk “because death threats were made to the referee by a person in RWDM clothing who was on the side of the field”.

RWDM Girls then submits a complaint to the Disciplinary Committee. The Brussels club is of the opinion that the referee should have first called together the representatives of both teams before stopping the match and that the prescribed procedure was therefore not followed. The Disciplinary Committee initially awarded Mazenzele Opwijk a forfeit victory, but on appeal RWDM Girls was ultimately right.

Result: the match will be replayed next Sunday at 4:30 PM. From the first minute. And with a 0-0 score. Mazenzele Opwijk is not amused. “The rationale in this decision is very difficult to find and our sense of justice does not allow us to understand how we should give up our 0-1 lead and the red card is also deleted.”

Different referee

At Voetbal Vlaanderen they understand Mazenzele Opwijk’s grievances. “But there is also something like a three-phase rule in amateur football,” says spokesperson Nand De Klerck. “Because the referee did not follow this in this case, the appeal committee has ruled that the match must be replayed. We understand that this is a shame for Mazenzele Opwijk, and we also want to protect our referees, but the regulations must be applied correctly.”

RWDM Girls is aware of the sensitivities surrounding the match and unsuccessfully submitted an application to the Football Association to be allowed to play Sunday’s match behind closed doors. It is not yet clear who will have to manage the match. The football association’s automated system initially appointed the same referee as in the first match, but he understandably politely declined.

Inquiries learned that the matches between RWDM Girls and Mazenzele Opwijk, who have met each other often in the provincial series, often resulted in strong clashes. Last summer, the relationship between both clubs did not improve after a player who is family-linked to the trainer of Mazenzele Opwijk switched to RWDM.