Mark van der Maarel has raised eyebrows at FC Utrecht and football followers outside that club. The defender decided to unsubscribe from trainer Henk Fraser for Saturday evening’s away match at FC Emmen, as he wanted to record a ‘daddy day’. This week Van der Maarel became a father for the second time.
In the run-up to the match, Fraser did not want to say too much about it, but his words made it clear that Van der Maarel’s choice is not a ‘normal’ one in football. “I’m very happy for Mark”, the coach told the General Newspaper. He does not want to make a value judgment about it, but according to the national newspaper Fraser thinks it is a bit crazy. “It is his choice not to be there. I have to respect that.
Michel Adam, former stopper of ADO Den Haag, sees it differently. He does not understand Van der Maarel’s choice at all. “Has he gone mad, I thought? Look, these children today easily live to be 110, 115 years old. Well, calculate how many daddy days you still have ahead of you as a father. You don’t enter a competition for that, do you? cancel? Come on, hey. I totally agree with Fraser that he’s pissed off. I’d be too.”
The fact that time has just changed is not accepted by the breed-Hageens. This becomes apparent when Adam’s wife intervenes in the telephone conversation with the AD reporter and says that she agrees with the defender of Utrecht. The ex-defender reacts fiercely. “Stop it, man! Believe me: if I hadn’t turned up at the Zuiderpark for such a reason, I would have immediately received a ‘keekie’ from my teammates. And rightly so.”