Ajax have confirmed that they have fined Steven Berghuis for punching a fan outside the stadium earlier tonight.
The report earlier showed a footage of him punching a FC Twente fan after he allegedly yelled racist slurs at his teammate Brian Brobbey.
The former Premier League player who briefly played for Watford could be seen lashing out at the fan following an altercation which saw some words being exchanged just before he prepared to board the bus.
? – The reason why Steven Berghuis tried to punch someone outside the stadium, from which the footage is going viral, is because this person shouted 'cancer blackie' [directly translated] to Brian Brobbey. [via @tubantia] pic.twitter.com/a4wH663inV
— ??? ???? ? (@TheEuropeanLad) May 28, 2023
Ajax released a statement condemning the player’s actions and confirming that the player has been fined for it.
The statement read (via The Mirror h/t De Telegraaf):
“Steven reacted in the wrong way. He quickly made this known to [manager] John Heitinga and immediately apologized.”
“Upon arrival at the Arena [Ajax’s home ground], he had a conversation with Heitinga, Edwin van der Sar and Sven Mislintat. They also wanted to hear his side of the story.
“The conclusion is that his reaction was wrong and that Ajax disapproves. He has been fined.”
The player also released a statement of this own where he revealed that abuses were hurled at him which triggered his reaction. And although he does not mention anything about the slurs being racist in nature but he does hint at something upsetting being said to him.
He said (via The Mirror):
“I regret my action, I should not have done this.”
“After every away game we get a lot of curses thrown at us at the bus, while we make time to hand out autographs to fans who ask for it. I’m used to it now, but people think they can shout anything.
“My response doesn’t solve anything, I understand that. It is not good, I have an exemplary function as an Ajax player.”