AZ put the pressure back on PSV in the battle for second place in the Eredivisie on Saturday. Thanks to goals from Jordy Clasie and Dani de Wit, Pascal Jansen’s team was 2-0 too strong for Sparta Rotterdam. It was a special game for Clasie, who played in place of the suspended Teun Koopmeiners and thus got his first starting place in the Eredivisie this season. The direct hit in the thirteenth minute was his first goal in the Eredivisie since October 21, 2018, then still in the shirt of Feyenoord.
For Clasie it was only his first goal in the AZ shirt. The midfielder struggled with a pubic bone injury this season and was recently suspended for two games due to betting on duels in the Eredivisie and the Kitchen Champion Division. Clasie did not want to say much about that. “I don’t want to say too much about that. I have been suspended for two games, it’s fine,” Clasie told the camera after the game. ESPN.
“I just want to focus on football now. It is a very small thing that has been made big and I am not going to speak out whether it was justified or not. I want to be back on the field and, just like today, be important where possible. ” Clasie and friends had created an account that was used for gambling. There has been no match fixing or betting on own matches.
The KNVB appeals committee found Clasie guilty of making illegal bets. The player’s name was removed from the published verdict, but as the club name was mentioned, it was only a matter of time that the name would be out on the street. Clasie was suspended during a period when he was unable to play for AZ due to his injury injury.
Koopmeiners and Fredrik Midtsjø are preferred by Jansen to Clasie. “I don’t agree with the number of playing minutes I get, but I also have to be realistic. The team is in a very good position this season and especially the midfield is doing well ”, Clasie acknowledged. “I therefore understand that there is little change and it is difficult to get in between.”