Go Ahead Eagles striker Victor Edvardsen is being widely condemned for a gesture he made towards Stuttgart midfielder Angelo Stiller during Thursday's Europa League in Deventer.
It is an incident that Wesley Sneijder, the former Netherlands midfielder, described as a form of bullying. "He should go to the locker room and apologise," said Sneijder after the full-time whistle. "This is a serious matter."
The actions of Edvardsen have overshadowed Stuttgart's 4-0 win at De Adelaarshorst. With 74 minutes on the clock, the second-half substitute was booked following an altercation with Stiller.
As seen in the footage below, the Swede could be seen mocking Stiller's nose by making a series of hand gestures towards the Germany international, who was born with a cleft lip, as per Voetbal International.
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Edvardsen's actions sparked a huge melee between both sets of players.
The incident involving Edvardsen and Stiller was a big talking point after the game, with Ziggo Sport pundits Ronald de Boer and Wesley Sneijder condemning the Swede's actions with some strong statements.
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"I think it's sad. These kinds of gestures are very wrong," said Sneijder.
Edvardsen proceeded to speak about the incident in a post-match interview, although he refused to apologise for his actions.
"I wanted to inject some extra energy into our team," he said, as per VI. "Adrenaline got the better of me. I play with a lot of emotion. I haven't apologised yet, and I don't know if I will."
He added: "If I see him again, I could apologise. But emotion is part of football. It's easy to say sorry, but he also said things you don't know about. He could also apologise to me."
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After seeing the interview with Edvardsen, a furious Sneijder gave his take on the situation.
"He wants to keep playing that tough guy. You're a role model for kids. This is just bullying. I think this is terrible," the former Inter Milan midfielder said.
"As a club, you should grab that kid by the ear and take him to the Stuttgart dressing room," he continued. "As a player, you're setting an example. Children see this, and they shouldn't start to accept it as normal."
Sneijder added: "If you ask me, he's out of his mind. Let's just leave it at that: the longer I talk about it, the angrier I get."
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Go Ahead Eagles captain Mats Deijl encouraged Edvardsen to apologise to Stiller.
"I saw it in the dressing room afterward, and I said it would be wise for him to apologize to that guy," Deijl said in the post-match press conference.
Go Ahead Eagles manager criticised by Wesley Sneijder after response to Edvardsen/Stiller incident
Melvin Boel, the head coach of Eredivisie side Go Ahead Eagles, was shown footage of Edvardsen's hand gesture towards Stiller in his post-match interview with Ziggo Sport.
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"I don't know what I'm seeing," he said. "I should ask Victor what I'm seeing here. I'll talk to Victor about it, and I'm curious what he'll say to me about it."
Asked whether Go Ahead should take action against Edvardsen, Boel declined to comment.
Sneijder was surprised by Boel's reaction. "I do expect Boel to reconsider this, both with his player and publicly," he said.
"He might not have seen the moment clearly. But such a moment comes out immediately after a match, and he should be aware of it. He says, 'I don't see anything,' but he does. So don't be afraid to say something about it."
"It frustrates me enormously," Sneidjer added. "I know a lot of kids who have been bullied, and I hate that. I always intervene when I see it; I always did that at school. That you, as a coach, let it pass you by so easily. They should all be ashamed of themselves."
Topics: Bundesliga, Europa League, Germany, Sweden, Eredivisie
Jack Kenmare