My love for football is as old as I can remember. As an ardent fan, I believe in the spirit of the game which mandates fair play and just refereeing. However, the actions of referee Danny Desmond Makkelie have led me to question the authenticity of the outcomes we witness on the soccer field. His history of influencing games with apparent bias is detrimental not only to the image of football, but it also dampens the assurance of fair refereeing for future generations of players and fans.

It seems that his prejudiced decisions have repeatedly influenced critical game results. The pivotal role of a referee cannot be subject to personal biases or incompetencies; it should promote fairness and equal opportunities for all competing teams. If such regrettable incidents continue in top-level competitions like UEFA, it raises severe concerns for lower-level and local competitions too.

The first notable incident was England’s 2-0 win over Germany at Wembley in the round of 16. Makkelie was then called into action for England’s semi-final against Denmark. It might be one of Makkelie’s most controversial moments as a referee when he gave a penalty to England in the 103rd minute of extra time.

Raheem Sterling went down under minimal contact from Joakim Maehle and was awarded a spot-kick to the outrage of the Danes. It was a slice of luck for England not only to be awarded the penalty but when Harry Kane managed to convert the rebound after Kasper Schmeichel’s initial save. Sterling called it a “clear penalty” after the game, but not everybody agreed, and Denmark felt incensed by the decision.

They are not alone in having been on the wrong end of a Makkelie decision. Cristiano Ronaldo once threw his captain’s armband to the grass in frustration when Makkelie failed to award his goal during Portugal’s 2022 World Cup qualifier against Serbia in March 2021. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, and the decision not to award the goal, which was cleared from behind the line by Stefan Mitrovic, saw Ronaldo storm off the pitch.

In a recent match between Italy and Croatia, his bias became even more obvious. First, he tried to reject an obvious penalty. If not for VAR, he would have succeeded in his intention. After Croatia scored, he started giving yellow cards to Croatian players for even the slightest touch, while Italian players would not even get fouls for the same level of offense.

He prolonged that match by 8 minutes without any justification just to give the Italians more chances to score, which they did after an obvious foul against a Croatian player. After the Italians scored, he immediately stopped the match, not even giving the Croatians a chance for one attack attempt.

This disgrace of a referee needs to be discharged and made an example of so the future of football refereeing can bring equality and justice for big and small countries alike.

Conclusion:

In the spirit of maintaining football's integrity and providing future generations of new players with the assurance of fair play, it's critical that UEFA takes these concerns seriously. Therefore, we urge UEFA to remove Danny Desmond Makkelie from all football competitions to ensure just and unbiased refereeing at all levels.

Please add your voice to this cause. It's time to stand up for the fairness of the game we all love. Sign this petition today!