Rafael van der Vaart has come in for fierce criticism after directing a racist comment at Japan’s players following the side’s 2-2 draw with the Netherlands at the World Cup.
Sunday’s Group F contest came to life after a goalless first half, with Japan twice fighting back to rescue a point against Ronald Koeman’s men at Dallas’ AT&T Stadium.
Virgil van Dijk broke the deadlock with a sublime header at the start of the second period, only for Keito Nakamura to squeeze the ball home from the edge of the box to level just six minutes later.
The Dutch had looked to be heading for victory as Crysencio Summerville restored the advantage just past the hour-mark, but Daichi Kamada’s deflected header at the death meant the spoils were shared.
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Sweden’s thumping 5-1 win over Tunisia later in the evening saw Graham Potter’s side go top of the group ahead of their encounter with the Netherlands this weekend.
In the wake of the Netherlands’ draw, though, some shocking comments made by Van der Vaart – formerly of Real Madrid and Tottenham – have been circulating for all the wrong reasons.
When dissecting Micky van de Ven’s shaky performance in the NOS studio, the former Netherlands international ‘jokingly’ insinuated the defender’s struggles may have been down to the opposition players ‘looking alike’.
‘The perfect corner is really very difficult to defend,’ Van der Vaart said while watching back replays of Kamada’s late equaliser.
‘This one came with the right speed, just over the five-yard line. With a bit of luck it would have gone in, but the corner was amazing.
‘They [the Japanese players] do look alike, of course, maybe he [Van de Ven] thought that… That’s a joke, of course. I hardly dare say anything.’
Van der Vaart went on to criticise Koeman’s players for sitting back and failing to ‘push harder’ when they had the chance to pull clear against Japan.
‘The Netherlands score a goal and then you notice that it all starts to fall back a bit again,’ he added.
‘You kind of brought it upon yourself. You could have pushed harder.’
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Before his inexcusable remarks about Japan’s squad, Van der Vaart had also raised eyebrows with a stinging takedown of Van Dijk, with the ex-Spurs star likening the defender’s turning to that of a ‘Boeing 747’.
‘I have to be honest: I was quite shocked by Van Dijk,’ he said at the half-time break.
‘With him, I thought: that doesn’t look good. Especially while turning.
‘It is proving very difficult. A bit like a Boeing 747 turning.
‘I hope he starts turning a bit faster during the tournament.’
Not for the first time, though, Van der Vaart was made to look incredibly foolish, with the talismanic Liverpool centre-back going on to scoop the Player of the Match award.
During his post-match media duties, Van Dijk implored FIFA to reconsider the implementation of hydration breaks at this summer’s tournament.
‘Hydration breaks are a bit interesting because I was obviously watching almost all the games, up until today and every time going to a commercial is a bit… not really what I like,’ Van Dijk replied when asked about the rule change.
‘I think also think for the neutral watchers on TV it’s also not great. So if it’s really hot it would be good to put them in, but you have to look at it in every game separately in my opinion.’
The Netherlands skipper added: ‘I think I’ve said enough already on that.’
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