Kökçü appears in front of the camera with a big scratch and posts playful tweet

Sunday, August 8, 2021 at 7:55 PM• Dominic Mostert

Orkun Kökçü is not unscathed from the friendly match between Feyenoord and Atlético Madrid. The attacking midfielder was switched in the first half in a scuffle with Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco and was scratched in the face by the Atlético attacker. Afterwards, Kökçü stands in front of the camera of . with a big scratch on his face ESPN.

“I saw that he had a duel with Tyrell (Malacia, ed.). He kicks and I thought he wanted to hit Tyrell, so I thought: I’ll push him away,” says Kökçü while looking back at the images. “We both went a little crazy, I think. I didn’t feel a blow at all, but he grabbed me, I think. Eventually I felt the sweat burning, so I realized I had been scratched.” After the match, Kökçü can put the disturbances into perspective. “It was a nice game, this is what you do it for. I also think that everyone strives to play such games. It feels good, such an intensive game.”

Kökçü also responds to the quarrel via Twitter. He posts a photo of Ferreira-Carrasco pulling hard on his shirt. “I thought that swapping shirts only happened after the game,” writes the Feyenoord player with a wink at the photo. Teammate Jens Toornstra is happy with the way Feyenoord acted as a whole during the quarrels. “We had a difficult phase for a while, but after that we were better and you saw that we really act as a team, even during the riot. I think that’s good to see.”

Trainer Arne Slot expresses his satisfaction with the match. “I think it gives extra confidence in the coming weeks,” says the trainer. “At the same time, we know that in the phase we are in now, sometimes things go well and sometimes not so much. It is nice that we were able to continue last Thursday. Today we also have a number of excellent attacks and a number of good pressure moments can make Atlético so difficult that we even won.”