‘I wished him strength and said that he had done well’: Holland captain Virgil van Dijk embraces tearful referee whose mother recently passed away after securing Nations League draw with Germany

Virgil van Dijk showed his class after firing the Netherlands into the Nations League finals by consoling the referee whose mum died before the match with Germany.

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Virgil Van Dijk embraces referee.

While the £75m Liverpool defender caught the eye as a striker for the Dutch with his magnificent equalising volley in the final minute of a 2-2 draw at the Veltin-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, it is fair to say his behaviour seconds after full-time was more admirable.

The Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan cut an emotional figure at full-time having decided to officiate the fixture despite the news emerging of the death of his mum.

“That man broke down, stood with tears in his eyes because he had just lost his mother,” said Van Dijk.

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The Dutch join England, Portugal and Switzerland in the semi-finals of the inaugural UEFA tournament after topping Group A1 with the finals set to be staged by Portugal in June.

Germany had forged a two-goal lead courtesy of Timo Wener and Leroy Sane inside the opening 19 minutes only to be pegged back in the closing minutes with Quincy Promes scoring before Van Dijk expertly walloped Tonny Vilhena’s cross beyond Manuel Neuer in the 90th minute.