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Koeman quits after Morocco
Ronald Koeman resigned as Netherlands manager after the Dutch were knocked out of the World Cup in the last-32 by Morocco on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Monterrey.
“Last night I took the decision to end my stint as head coach of the Dutch national team”
Koeman, 63, said in a statement on Instagram that “Last night I took the decision to end my stint as head coach of the Dutch national team,” after “We all shared the dream of making history at this World Cup, but we fell short.”
The Netherlands’ exit came after a round of 32 loss to Morocco in a penalty shootout, and the match was described as the Netherlands’ earliest World Cup exit.
In the same World Cup match, the Netherlands opened the scoring through Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo in the 72nd minute, before Morocco equalised through an Issa Diop goal in the first minute of stoppage time to force extra time.
TSN said the Netherlands’ campaign ended in the Round of 32 on penalties, with Morocco winning 3-2 after extra time solved nothing.
Racist abuse after misses
After the penalty shootout against Morocco, the KNVB said Justin Kluivert, Quinten Timber and Crysencio Summerville were subjected to discriminatory, racist and hateful comments on social media.
The Guardian reported that the KNVB statement said, “We find this appalling, and we will file a case with Meld Online Discriminatie [Report Online Discrimination],” after the players failed to score as Morocco edged the Dutch 3-2.
MyJoyOnline said Koeman’s resignation followed the World Cup exit and the “appalling” racist abuse aimed at players who missed penalties, and it quoted the KNVB saying the federation would seek criminal charges against anyone who abused its players.
In the same KNVB framing, the Guardian added that “Once a report is filed, their legal staff assess whether the statement constitutes a punishable offence,” which could lead to a formal complaint and a criminal investigation.
The Guardian also recalled that Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho suffered abuse after England’s loss to Italy in the final of Euro 2020, which led to two people being sentenced to prison and another receiving a suspended sentence.
What comes next for Oranje
Koeman’s resignation leaves the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) needing to begin an immediate search for a new head coach after the Netherlands’ Round of 32 exit to Morocco.
“I decided last night that it is time to step down as head coach of the Netherlands”
NL Times said Koeman wrote on Instagram, “I decided last night that it is time to step down as head coach of the Netherlands,” and it described the decision as coming a day after the defeat on penalties.
The Star’s Reuters dateline described Koeman as expected to announce his resignation in the coming days after the Dutch were eliminated by Morocco in the first knockout round in Mexico on Monday.
Fox Sports analyst Zlatan Ibrahimović criticised Koeman’s tactics in the run-up to the shootout, saying, “They’re not playing with their attacking identity today,” and he added, “It’s all on Koeman.”
KCTV said the Netherlands will be looking for a new coach after the early exit, and it described Koeman’s resignation as first reported by Fabrizio Romano.
