Etienne Vaessen regrets his behavior during FC Groningen-Ajax (2-2) on May 14. The goalkeeper received a lot of criticism and also death threats, he says in an interview with VI.
The 29-year-old Vaessen pushed Ajax defender Owen Wijndal to the ground deep into injury time, after which a scuffle ensued. Shortly afterwards, Thijmen Blokzijl made it 2-2 for the home team after a free kick. As a result, Ajax lost the lead to PSV in the penultimate round of play, which ultimately took the title.
After the final whistle, things escalated. Players and staff members from FC Groningen and Ajax got into a fight. Vaessen dealt some blows. The goalkeeper was suspended for four games, one of which was conditional. He apologized for his behavior a few days later via Instagram.
Vaessen received a lot of abuse in the days after FC Groningen-Ajax. “I thought it was very intense. I knew I had done something stupid. But it just kept going, for a week,” says the Suriname international.
“I understand the frustration. I provoked myself too. I shouldn’t have done that either. Because I also understood them, the pain of missing the title,” says Vaessen. FC Groningen disapproved of the behavior of, among others, the goalkeeper and agreed to the settlement proposal from the public prosecutor of paid football.
‘I was easy to burn’
Vaessen is happy with how FC Groningen handled the situation. “The club didn’t think it was smart either, let that be clear. But they know me, they know what I’ve been through and what I’m like. They punished me, but also offered help and stood behind me.”
The goalkeeper found the criticism of his person too severe at a certain point. “Everyone just imitates each other at a certain point, they just have to talk over each other. It’s absurd. It was about ‘that shitty keeper from FC Groningen’. And then Vaessen, that village idiot, is easy to burn.”
Vaessen is currently active with Suriname at the Gold Cup. Bond coach Stanley Menzo’s team has already been eliminated after two group matches. Suriname will play its last group match against the Dominican Republic on Sunday.