A remarkable moment on Wednesday morning NPO Radio 1. The radio station wanted to discuss the semi-finals of the European Championship with Glenn Helder, but the former football player was no longer interested after Peter R. de Vries was shot on Tuesday evening. “I think it’s a bit fake to myself if I’m going to talk about football now,” Helder explained in conversation with presenter Jurgen van den Berg.
“I’ll tell you honestly: we had already made that appointment, but after what happened last night … If I could have called off, I would have canceled,” says Helder. “I know that life goes on, I understand that. But if I had been able to cancel, I would have canceled,” he repeated. “I don’t feel called to talk about football and pretend that supposedly interests me now, while last night Peter R. de Vries was shot.”
Remarkable moment: we were going to talk to Glenn Helder about the semi-finals of the European Championship, but he no longer sees that after last night’s attack on Peter R. de Vries. “I think it’s a bit fake to myself if I start talking about football now.” #r1jn pic.twitter.com/Pv9ymltPwt
— NPO Radio 1 (@NPORadio1) July 7, 2021
“If you’d rather we stop, that’s fine with me too. That’s okay. Whatever you want,” said radio host Van den Berg. Helder searched for the right words and then said: “I think it’s a bit fake to myself if I start talking about football now. It’s so recent. It’s not just someone who got shot. Something is simply said to the Netherlands because you shoot someone like that. And then the next morning I’m going to talk about football, as if nothing happened.”
Helder believes that he would be sending the wrong signal if he were to look ahead to the semi-final of the European Championship between England and Denmark, while De Vries was shot in Amsterdam the night before. “Tonight’s game really doesn’t interest me at all,” said Helder, who says he knows De Vries. “I met him a few times. It’s just so bad. This also goes beyond whether you like him or not. I like him very much.”
“Glenn, I totally understand what you’re saying,” Van den Berg responded. “And we respect that, so thank you very much. And thank you for your story too, because what you have to worry about is half, or maybe the whole of the Netherlands. How do we move forward today after this terrible news that came to us yesterday?” Helder, former player of Arsenal, among others, repeated once again that he did not think it was the right time to talk about football. “You can always call me, but now it’s a bit of a bummer.”
Peter R. de Vries fights for his life; several suspects arrested
At a press conference on Tuesday evening, the situation of Peter R. de Vries was discussed by, among others, mayor Femke Halsema.
De Vries was shot on Tuesday evening around 7.30 pm in Amsterdam. Femke Halsema, the mayor of Amsterdam, reported during an inserted press conference that the crime journalist-cum-agent is seriously injured in hospital and is fighting for his life. Police arrested three men after a massive manhunt. Police sources confirm to the Gelderlander that two of the suspects are from Gelderland. It concerns two men of about twenty and thirty years old from Tiel and Maurik.