Leg breaker: Nigel de Jong (right) broke the leg of
Hatem Ben Arfa five minutes in Sunday's match with
Newcastle
Bert van Marwijk said he had 'no alternative' but to
drop Nigel de Jong from the Holland's squad after the Manchester
City midfielder was involved in a tackle that left Newcastle winger
Hatem Ben Arfa with a broken left leg.
The manager criticised De Jong for the reckless tackle labelling
it 'wild and unnecessary' challenge.
The Frenchman, on loan at Newcastle from Marseille, suffered the
injury after only five minutes at Eastlands and left the field on a
stretcher, requiring oxygen to ease his discomfort.
The Magpies confirmed the injury to be a broken tibia and fibula
of Ben Arfa's left leg.
In his newspaper colimn, Van Marwijk said: 'I've seen the
pictures back. It was a wild and unnecessary offence. He went in
much too hard. It is unfortunate, especially since he does not need
to do it.
'The funny thing is that the referee did not even show a yellow
card for it. Apparently, there are other standards.
'But I have a problem with the way Nigel needlessly looks to
push the limit. I am going to speak to him.'
He later added in a statement: 'I just informed the squad and
told them I saw no other possibility. In the near future I will
discuss this matter with Nigel but right now we have to focus on
the upcoming two matches.'
Previous: De Jong was widely
It is not the first time the 25-year-old has come under
the microscope for his aggressive play, having caused Bolton's
United States midfielder Stuart Holden a fractured right fibula on
international duty in March and then got away with a chest-high
challenge on Spain's Xabi Alonso in the World Cup
final.
De Jong was last week named in Van Marwijk's Oranje squad for
the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers against Moldova and Sweden.
The World Cup runners-up, who picked up six points from their
opening two Group E qualifiers against San Marino and Finland last
month, take on Moldova in Chisinau on October 8 and Sweden four
days later at the Amsterdam ArenA.
