BBC World Cup coverage halted by 'unacceptable' incident during Netherlands vs Tunisia

The World Cup Group F match between Netherlands and Tunisia was briefly halted by an 'unacceptable' incident.

Netherlands secured a 3-1 win over the already-eliminated Tunisia to top Group F with seven points from nine.

An own goal from Ellyes Skhiri put them 1-0 up inside three minutes, and when Brian Brobbey scored a second just four minutes later, it looked as if a big scoreline was on the horizon.

Things didn't quite pan out that way, as Hazem Mastouri scored Tunisia's second goal of the tournament on 54 minutes.

New Spurs signing Jan Paul van Hecke restored the two-goal advantage for Ronald Koeman's side to secure their 3-1 victory.

Netherlands will face Group C runners-up Morocco in the round of 32 stage, with that fixture taking place in the Mexican city of Guadalupe on June 29.

'How is this happening?' - Netherlands vs Tunisia briefly stopped

But there was an unusual incident before the second half of their win over Tunisia got underway.

That is because only 10 Tunisia players walked on to the pitch to kick off the second half, with Skhiri - who scored the own goal - absent.

Referee Katia Itzel Garcia, who was officiating her first World Cup match, noticed the deficit as the African side were about to get the action underway and quickly blew her whistle to halt proceedings.

She then had to explain to several apparently confused players that Skhiri had failed to appear.

It took just under 20 seconds from that point for Skhiri to make it on to the pitch after running out of the tunnel to audible boos from the crowd in attendance in Kansas City.

What took him so long? 🤔

Ellyes Skhiri caused a delay to the second half between Tunisia and the Netherlands after the referee was left waiting for him to come out of the tunnel pic.twitter.com/ZZhRbzUfLd

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 26, 2026

The match was broadcast live on BBC.

Their lead commentator Steve Wilson telling viewers: "The Tunisia player at the back was desperately trying to draw the referee's attention to the fact that they only had 10 players out there. In fact, they still only have 10 players out there. They are one short."

Co-commentator Stephen Warnock asked: "How?"

"It's incredible," the ex-Liverpool and England defender continued. "You know that the clock is going down and you've got to be out quicker.

"Ronald Koeman is furious, and rightly so. He's saying, 'How is this happening?' It's unacceptable."

Tunisia are currently managed by perennial World Cup boss Herve Renard, who has gained something of a reputation for being in charge of a different African or Asian nation every time the tournament rolls along.

The Frenchman doesn't even need to be in charge at the beginning of a tournament either, with Tunisia sacking Sabri Lamouchi to appoint him after their opening 5-1 defeat to Sweden.

Renard coached at his first World Cup in 2010, presiding over three consecutive group stage losses for Angola in what were his only matches in charge.

The 57-year-old sat out the 2014 World Cup but was appointed Ivory Coast manager as soon as they were eliminated, before leading Morocco in 2018.

He was Saudi Arabia boss in 2022 and would have coached them at this World Cup, only to be surprisingly sacked in April.

His replacement was the Greek coach Georgios Donis, who played for Blackburn Rovers and Huddersfield Town.