Louis van Gaal slapped me during a game, says Robin van Persie

Holland manager Louis van Gaal congratulates Robin van Persie as he is subbed off during the International Friendly against The Netherlands and Ecuador in 2014. Photo: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images

Holland manager Louis van Gaal congratulates Robin van Persie as he is subbed off during the International Friendly against The Netherlands and Ecuador in 2014. Photo: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images

Published May 24, 2020

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CAPE TOWN – Former Netherlands international Robin van Persie has revealed that ex-boss Louis van Gaal once slapped him during a football game.

According to Van Persie, the incident happened during their 2014 World Cup quarter-finals clash against Costa Rica when the striker refused to be substituted off the park as the game entered extra-time.

“The game went into extra-time and I got cramp. Louis shouted ‘I’m taking you off’. I turned around and shouted ‘no, no, we have penalties soon’ but the last 20 minutes were physically really hard for me,” the former Manchester United and Arsenal striker wrote in the book LVG – The Manager and the Total Person.

“He (Van Gaal) could see that – and steam was coming out of his ears. When the match was finished and we gathered near the touchline, he got close to me and suddenly hit me.

“Bang! With a big flat hand he dealt me a blow and said in an angry way ‘don’t ever do that to me again’.

“I looked at him absolutely stunned. Louis said ‘just get on with it and make sure you get it in the net from the spot. I’m glad I managed to put the penaly in the corner. When I look back on that incident, it was a weird moment, but that was Louis for you,” he said.

“Sometimes he can hug a player – and sometimes he can hit you.”

IOL Sport

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