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Sneijder suspended for two games, Ten Cate goes free

29 November: Wesley Sneijder has been handed a two-game suspension by the disciplinary committee of the KNVB, due to the red card he received in last weekend's unruly Eredivisie encounter at Sparta Rotterdam. Sneijder will miss the Eredivisie home games against Willem II 03 (December) and AZ (10 December). Henk ten Cate was sent to the stands by referee Bossen, during the half-time break of the same match, but the disciplinary committee did not hand the Ajax head-coach a penalty.

Both Sneijder and Ten Cate were dismissed by referee Ruud Bossen during Sparta Rotterdam vs Ajax. After 13 minutes, Sneijder got into an argument with his opponent, Sparta's Jeffrey Vlug, and was booked for pushing him. As a reaction to that Sneijder used the Dutch word tyfushond, which literally translates as 'you typhoid dog'. The discussion afterwards focused on the question: whom did Sneijder say it to? Referee Bossen claimed that Sneijder looked him in the face and called him blinde tyfushond ('you blind, typhoid dog'). Sneijder claims that he said witte tyfushond ('you white, typhoid dog') and was in fact speaking to Vlug, who has very blond, almost 'white' hair.

The KNVB prosecutor initially proposed a suspension of two games, plus one conditional, as a settlement. Sneijder turned this proposal down. On Tuesday evening, at the KNVB headquarters in the town of Zeist, the disciplinary committee demanded a longer suspension: three games, unconditional, in spite of a testimony from Urby Emanuelson, who had joined his team-mate to Zeist. The final verdict, on Wednesday morning, was two matches.

During the half-time break of Sparta vs Ajax, Bossen sent Ajax coach Henk ten Cate to the stands. Ten Cate followed Bossen into the tunnel of Sparta Stadium, having his say about the red card given to Wesley Sneijder. Ten Cate called Bossen a moraalridder ('moral crusader') a number of times, after which Bossen told him: "You're staying inside for the second half." After the match Ten Cate pointed out that moraalridder is not an abusive expression. Bossen riposted that Ten Cate was not dismissed for abusive language, but for repeatedly criticizing the KNVB officials on duty. However, TV footage made clear that Bossen told Ten Cate that he was dismissed after the first time Ten Cate used the word, not after 'repeated criticism'. Bossen also claimed that Ten Cate had already been mouthing off against the 4th official on the sideline, but for this the disciplinary committee had insufficient proof. Ten Cate goes free, after having turned down a settlement proposal from the KNVB prosecutor (a 500 euro fine for misconduct plus one game of conditional suspension).

According to a report on Ajax.nl, the club are currently 'considering an appeal' against Sneijder's suspension.

Meanwhile, the KNVB prosecutor is still investigating the much-discussed 'Perez affair'. The Dane hurled racist abuse at linesman Nicky Siebert during Ajax vs FC Twente on 19 November. The word that Perez used was published in every Dutch newspaper: kankerneger, best translated simply as "f**king nigger". The incident went unnoticed, but was made public by football journalist Hugo Borst in his weekly column in newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. The column was published six days after the match, on Saturday 25 November. Ajax immediately issued a statement on Ajax.nl and so did Perez, who apologized for his 'black-out' and announced that - as a gesture - he will organize a football clinic in the Amsterdam suburb of Bijlmermeer, home of the large part of Amsterdam's African community. (MP)

Source: NOS Teletekst

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