Feyenoord refused to make Sem Steijn available to NOS for an interview after their 5-3 defeat by sc Heerenveen. The midfielder scored within minutes of coming off the bench in the second half, but the club blocked an on-camera interview with NOS afterwards, presenter Gert van 't Hof revealed on Sunday evening's Studio Sport Voetbal.
During the post-match discussion, the presenter said, "We wanted to interview Sem Steijn, who came on and scored quickly, but Feyenoord wouldn't let us get him in front of the camera."
Despite costing no less than ten million euros when he joined Feyenoord last summer, Steijn has had to settle for a place on the bench at De Kuip under manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst. The attacking midfielder has played just 214 minutes after twelve rounds of this Eredivisie season.
Against Heerenveen, Van Bronckhorst brought Steijn on in the 65th minute with Feyenoord trailing 3-2 after surrendering a 0-2 lead. Four minutes later, Steijn capitalised on a headed lay-off from Nacho Ferri and emphatically fired in the equaliser to make it 3-3.
Steijn's equaliser did not earn Feyenoord a result. Ringo Meerveld scored twice in the closing stages to complete his hat-trick and seal a 5-3 win for Heerenveen.
Afterwards, Rafael van der Vaart was scathing about the Rotterdam side's performance. "I thought Feyenoord actually started the match badly," said the pundit, who saw little conviction from the visitors even after they had taken a 0-2 lead. "They were apathetic; they weren't getting close to their opponents."
Ron Jans also felt Feyenoord had little answer to the Frisians. "Heerenveen deserved to win," concluded the former manager, who was particularly impressed by Meerveld's decisive appearance off the bench. "I think people will still be talking to him about this match in fifty years' time."