Jawwad Qamar
After an exciting 49 minutes in the first semifinal between Netherlands and Spain at Wagener Stadium, it all came down to the last 21 minutes when the co-hosts Dutch were reduced to 10 men for 10 minutes, due to the actions of Duco Telgenkamp. The Dutch forward’s shot from the top of the circle was deflected out, much to the joy of Spain’s Xavier Gispert who had rushed him. Gispert, in his celebration, got in the face of Telgenkamp who did not appreciate that, knocking the Spaniard down with his left elbow and shoulder to Gispert’s midsection. Tempers flared on both sides and Umpire Zeke Newman called video umpire Sean Edwards for a serious misconduct referral and Edwards recommended a 10-minute yellow card.
Spain immediately took advantage, with an unmarked Jose Basterra tapping in his second goal at the 50th minute mark and Pepe Cunill followed on a penalty-corner goal a minute later. Basterra then completed his hat-trick on a Penalty Stroke, result of a bad challenge in the circle, to put Spain up 4-1. The Dutch however weren’t done yet and fought back in the dying minutes with penalty corner goals from Jip Janssen and Joep de Mol. But it was too much to overcome and Spain held on for a 4-3 victory much to the dismay of the large home crowd.
Duco Telgenkamp had a lot of time to reflect on his action.
The Dutch were chasing their first title since winning at Utrecht in1998. Spain will face the defending champions Germany in the final on Sunday hoping to win its first world crown.
Germany booked their place in a second consecutive final with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Argentina. After a goalless first half, the Germans went ahead on a deflection by Justus Weigand at the 33rd minute. But the Argentinians responded early in the final quarter, with Tomas Domene converting a penalty corner to level the score. The game then swung Germany’s way when Argentina’s Lucio Mendez was handed a five-minute yellow card in the 50th minute, leaving his side a player down. Germany made the one-man advantage count with creative passing, finding Paul-Philipp Kaufmann to score in the 54th minute for the final score.
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Editor's Note: I have been umpiring for 36 years at all levels and at one point was mentored by George Croft, then Secretary of the FIH Rules Board - if he didn't know how the Rules should be blown, nobody did. I was always schooled that this kind of incident should have been an instant red card for Telgenkamp for violent conduct and a 10 minute yellow for Gispert for instigating the incident. Let us not forget that it was Telgenkamp who triggered the post match brawl at the 2024 Paris Olympics final, and although past reputations should not really be taken into consideration, one can't help thinking the Tournament Director in this case should institute a post match suspension for the next game if this kind of behaviour is to be stamped out. Not suspending him sends out the message that that kind of behaviour is acceptable as you will only get a yellow card for it.