Nigel de Jong has a bad reputation. After his flying karate kick on Xabi Alonso today, everyone who didn’t already know learned the reason. De Jong is reckless, and more often than not, dirty. On several occasions in the 2010 World Cup, de Jong came within inches of severely injuring someone. Perhaps even more amazing than de Jong’s recklessness is the lack of punishment for his actions. Nowhere was that more evident than today.
De Jong only received a yellow card for his ninja kick. That’s it. Some may argue that head referee cut de Jong some slack because it was the World Cup Final. If that is true that’s unfortunate. While it is understandable to not want to ruin a team’s chances in such an important game, de Jong knew full well the potential consequences of his actions. I expect better out of such a well-respected referee. Still, de Jong has been getting away with his dirty play all tournament. He received just two yellow cards prior to the final, the second (against Brazil) causing him to miss the semifinal. Still, de Jong’s dirty history extends beyond the past month.
How is de Jong not sent off there?? Reckless challenge.. Again.. @stuholden22
Stu couldn’t have said it better. Holden nearly lost his entire season at Bolton because of de Jong’s reckless play in a meaningless friendly on March 3rd. Sliding in with both feet, studs up, de Jong completely missed the ball and struck Holden’s ankle, fracturing his right fibula. Luckily for Holden, the break was minor and he only missed six weeks. Again, de Jong only received a yellow card. How de Jong gets away with his dirty play is beyond the comprehension of most people.
De Jong’s attitude after both the Holden foul and the Alonso foul shows his true colors. In the case of the Holden foul, de Jong pulls a page out of Mexico’s book and tries to get Holden to stand up immediately, ignoring that Holden is grimacing in very real pain. Realizing Holden won’t get up, de Jong walks away and pretends he did nothing wrong. Because the Alonso foul today was being replayed, de Jong’s initial reaction is not available. When the camera cuts back to him, all is revealed. De Jong is shown casually walking away, smiling, while half of Spain’s medical staff is huddled around Alonso.
Simply put, de Jong doesn’t care. He doesn’t think he did anything wrong. That alone proves de Jong is a dirty player. Until he receives harsher discipline, he’s not going to change. Even then, he probably won’t.
Adam Soucie is the author of Soccer, Not Football, a blog focused on the American game. If you’ve liked this piece, check out his other work. If you haven’t liked it, he promises there’s better stuff on his site.