Feyenoord captain Orkun Kökçü about riot with Dusan Tadic: ‘It looks pretty stupid, go play football’ | Dutch football

Throwing the lighter on Davy Klaassen’s head happened just after Orkun Kökçü had an altercation with Dusan Tadic. “I was full of emotion,” said the Feyenoord captain afterwards at ESPN. “I didn’t get much of it because of that. I thought we were going in because we had that fight. I went to the referee and thought ‘what are you doing?’ But then I only saw Davy Klaassen’s wound. Then you are disappointed that something like this happens.”

Kökçü was furious with Tadic, but at the press conference the Feyenoord captain denied that he had been insulted by his Ajax colleague. Then why was he so angry? ,,They are in front, you are trying to fan a fire. He brought me to the ground and said something else: I don’t know exactly what, but I got high in my emotions. He made gestures, but I don’t know what exactly he meant by that. I didn’t like that. You could see that.”

The Feyenoord captain himself thinks that he is often involved in such moments: ,,I am a fairly emotional boy and am often involved in these kinds of moments. I don’t talk well and that’s not always the case, but in a match like this it’s easier to get into those moments. But now that I’ve cooled down a bit and you see it again you think: ‘It looks pretty stupid’. But you can’t control yourself in such a moment. In retrospect you think: ‘Go and play football’.”

A solution to fan behavior? ,,Let me first say that it does not belong, but I don’t think you have much in your own hands. It happens everywhere. When Santiago Giménez went to cheer behind the boarding at Ajax-away, because he didn’t know there were no away supporters, all sorts of things were thrown. As a football player and as a club, you can’t do much about that,” says Kökçü.

The captain expects Feyenoord to be disappointed for another two days after missing the cup final, after which the focus will be on the national championship. The team from Rotterdam defends an eight-point lead over Ajax and PSV. “Today we felt what it is like to see a prize pass you by and I expect that we will be extra focused on the competition.”