Wilfred Genee has provided further clarification regarding the striking footage showing Arjen Robben pushing him during an amateur match. The presenter of Vandaag Inside states that the former Netherlands international’s behaviour surprised him and that the incident was not an isolated one. According to Genee, there had already been a build-up to the incident.
Robben, coach of FC Groningen’s Under-14 side, saw his team lose 1-0 to league leaders Viktoria, where Genee’s son plays. After the match, an argument broke out between Robben and the referee, and Genee intervened.
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Robben then shoved the Vandaag Inside presenter aside and snapped, “Don’t get involved.”
Johan Derksen, a former professional left-back, reacted with incredulity to the footage. “You’re laughing it off, but I don’t find it funny when a record international shoves you. You must have really provoked him,” he said.
Genee then recalls a pre-match moment: “It was quite touching—an elderly referee was waiting with his phone for Arjen Robben. He wanted a photo, but Arjen declined.”
Genee also recounts Robben’s behaviour during the game, labelling it conspicuous: “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.”
René van der Gijp smiles at the sight of the referee. “This is just a bloke out there on a Saturday, having a bit of fun refereeing a match.” Derksen is equally surprised. “I can’t see Arjen Robben doing this at all. It’s a disgrace to see him standing in front of the dugout at an amateur club like some village idiot.”
Genee then reviews several controversial decisions. “In the first half, a perfectly good goal was ruled out; it should have stood, and there should have been a penalty as well, so it could have been 3–0.”
After the match, Genee walked over to Robben to calm him down. “I said, ‘Don’t get so worked up,’ and he replied, ‘What’s it got to do with you?’”
Genee initially assumed the jibe was a joke from the former striker, but a bizarre detail proved otherwise: “He also called me ‘pancake’.”
Valentijn Driessen suggests Genee deliberately sought out the confrontation, but the presenter denies this. “I went over there because I was so baffled in the first half. That little bloke [the referee] was completely flustered and he simply missed that penalty because of the constant shouting from that side. In the second half he simply walked onto the pitch and kept shouting at the referee. It’s a real shame.”