Netherlands' Arjen Robben: 'The penalty was a foul - but I dived earlier on in the match'

 

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Controversy: Arjen Robben goes down in the box against Mexico
Martyn Ziegler30 June 2014

Arjen Robben courted further World Cup controversy by insisting he was fouled for the penalty that led to Holland's last-gasp 2-1 win over Mexico, but apologised for diving earlier in the match.

However Robben said in quotes attributed to Dutch television channel NOS: "The one at the end was a penalty, I was fouled.

"At the same time I have to apologise in the first half I took a dive and I really shouldn't do that.

"That was a stupid, stupid thing to do but sometimes you're expecting to be struck and then they pull their leg away at the last minute."

Herrera said Portuguese referee Pedro Proenca should have taken action against the Bayern Munich winger, who went down under a challenge by Mexico skipper Rafael Marquez in injury time.

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He told a news conference: "Robben did three dives and he should have been cautioned. You should caution a guy who is trying to cheat and then if Robben did it again he would be sent off."

Holland won 2-1 in Fortaleza thanks to Klaas Jan Huntelaar's extra-time penalty, after Wesley Sneijder's 88th-minute volley had equalised Giovani Dos Santos' goal.

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