Danny Makkelie has expressed his support for fourteen-year-old Frédérique. The Amstelveen was severely beaten in her hometown on Monday when she was asked whether she was a boy or a girl. When she didn’t want to elaborate on that, she had to pay for it with a few punches in the face. Meanwhile, the police are taking the matter seriously. The football world has also reacted with shock to the abuse.
Makkelie responds via LinkedIn to the message from Paul Brink, Frédérique’s father. Brink brought the story out on Monday via the social media platform, after which a flood of statements of support poured in. “Hi Frédérique, you are incredibly beautiful the way you are and for who you want to be”, Makkelie begins his personal message. “It is not for others to pass judgment on that. Everyone should be happy in his or her way. I can be very angry about what has happened to you and I sincerely hope that this ignoramus (to put it mildly) will meet itself.”
The police in Amsterdam arrested a 14-year-old boy on Tuesday who is suspected of being involved in the assault. Prior to the assault, there would have been a confrontation between Frédérique and the suspects in the Westwijk shopping center. The group repeatedly asked if she was a boy or a girl. When she refused to answer, a boy allegedly punched her in the face several times. Makkelie, who works as a top referee for the police in addition to his work, calls on his colleagues. “I hope my colleagues can track him down so that he can be punished for his cowardly act and criminal behavior! Good luck and get well soon and stay who you are, namely a beautiful person.”
Barbara Barend, who is committed to the acceptance of the LGBTI community, is also disgusted by the events in Amstelveen via Twitter. “I can’t help but cry when I read and see this. Dear Frederique, you are beautiful inside and out. And dear father Paul, you are a wonderful and rightly proud father. what an example you are. ‘I AM WHO I BEN AND YOU CAN BE WHO YOU WANT TO BE!'” Barend used to play in the Dutch national team for players under the age of fifteen, before a knee injury put an end to her career. Today she is the founder and owner of Helden Magazine. The sports journalist has often spoken openly about the violence against LGBT people.
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