Davy Klaassen has clear message for Marcos Leonardo after remarkable penalty incident in Groningen v Ajax

Davy Klaassen does not blame Marcos Leonardo for their exchange before his missed penalty in FC Groningen v Ajax, he told ESPN after the match. Leonardo wanted to take the spot-kick, but the Ajax captain refused to hand it over.

On the pitch, the pair talked at length. Klaassen then missed the penalty.

"Leo won the penalty and he wanted to take it. But an agreement is an agreement: I take it," said the Ajax captain, who is first on the list of penalty takers.

Klaassen understood why Leonardo wanted the ball. "We had a brief discussion about it. He's a striker; he wants to score. That's completely understandable, but I have to take responsibility at that moment."

There was no row, Klaassen insisted. "It might have looked as though we were arguing, but we weren't."

Shortly afterwards, Klaassen appeared to concede a penalty with a risky tackle on Brynjólfur Willumsson. After a lengthy VAR check, Dennis Higler decided not to award one.

"I felt I slid past him, not into him," Klaassen said, agreeing with Higler. "We both go past the ball. He misses the ball too. But I'm not a referee."