Former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich star Arjen Robben has moved into coaching at boyhood club FC Groningen but the Dutch icon has landed himself in hot water in recent days
Arjen Robben
Groningen have released a statement defending Robben(Image: Getty Images)
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FC Groningen have leapt to the defence of former Chelsea star Arjen Robben after he was accused of of abusing a referee during an under 14 game. The Dutchman is currently in charge of the youth side of Groningen.
But Robben has been met with some negative accusations over recent weeks. Dutch TV presenter Wilfred Genee, who attended a recent game to watch his son play for the opposite side, has said that Robben was particularly aggressive towards the match official.
He said: “At half-time, with the score at 1-0 to my son’s side, he was furious about a goal kick or a corner. But for the entire first half he had been swearing at the referee.”
Genee has also accused Robben of hitting out at him personally, having called him a ‘pancake’. But Groningen have since released a statement and disputed that the former winger was abusive towards the referee.
Writing on social media, the Dutch side said: “FC Groningen feels the need to respond to the accusations directed at our colleague Arjen Robben by Wilfred Genee.
“The club denies that Arjen mistreated the referee during or around the match, which has now also been confirmed by the referee himself. What we see and know is that Arjen is fanatical and enthusiastic as a trainer/coach.
“During the break, he is in conversation with the referee, during which Wilfred Genee - who is present there as a parent - uninvitedly interferes with this conversation, after he had already, unasked, ventured onto the field earlier during the warm-up.
Arjen Robben
Robben retired from 2021(Image: Getty Images)
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“As football clubs, we acknowledge together with the KNVB that parental interference around the football field constitutes a recurring problem that we consider undesirable.
“Since this is a personal conversation between the coach and the referee, we as a club believe that parents should not interfere with this. And because Arjen, in our view, does nothing improper, we consider this matter closed. Arjen has let us know that he has no desire to devote any further attention to this and is fully focusing on his role as trainer/coach.”
Robben, 42, started his career with Groningen ahead of moves to PSV Eindhoven, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. He returned to the Dutch side in 2020 but retired after making just seven appearances. Robben made 96 appearances for the Dutch national team throughout his career, scoring 37 goals.
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