He is well remembered due to the incident before the 1978 World Cup final, when the opponent Argentinians objected to the cast he wore on his injured forearm since it could have injured an Argentinian player. Despite the bandage having been passed by FIFA and worn in previous matches, the referee, Italian Sergio Gonella vacillated. The Dutch players threatened to walk off the field in protest, delaying the kickoff of the game. Finally an extra layer of padding was applied to the bandage as a solution, and the match could start.