Arno Vermeulen is involved in the feud between Dick Advocaat and Pierre van Hooijdonk on Monday. Attorney claimed in an interview with the NRC not wanting to work as an analyst for the NOS because of the presence of Pierre van Hooijdonk, but according to Vermeulen that is not true. The lawyer would simply have found the offer to sit with Veronica Inside during the European Championship better.
Vermeulen, head of football at the NOS, approached Advocaat at the beginning of this year. “I have been in contact with Dick three times, indeed with the question whether he wanted to work at the European Championship”, said the sports commentator in the NOS Football podcast. “He was extremely interested, but asked if he could have some time to make a decision. That was possible, because it was in January. But in March he suddenly told Valentijn Driessen at a press conference at Feyenoord: ‘We are becoming colleagues. because I’m going to do the European Championship for Veronica Inside.
Two days later Vermeulen received a message from Lawyer stating that he did not want to work at the NOS. “Of course that is allowed. I thought it was crazy, I said that too. Of course you are not going to work at an amateur club if you can also reach the top: we have all the matches. But of course it is allowed, it is a choice. He is allowed. take a seat there every day. “
It hurts Vermeulen that Lawyer then suddenly presented Van Hooijdonk in an interview as an argument for his rejection. “I have been in contact with him three times and the name Van Hooijdonk has never been mentioned,” said Vermeulen. “He has never made the reservation: ‘Van Hooijdonk cannot sit there.’ He was interested until he received an offer from the colleagues of Veronica Inside. That is allowed, but then you should not be so silly to come up with the Van Hooijdonk argument.
Vermeulen is surprised that Lawyer does want to sit next to Johan Derksen. “He said last year that Lawyer is for himself at Feyenoord and not for the club, and that it is a shame that he does not look after the youth. That is all allowed, we have also had that criticism, but that is I think it is really bad and I am also disappointed that he is trying to get his right on the back of Van Hooijdonk, who has been attacked many times recently, while he has decided to go for the money or “For the amount of times he can sit there, make a different choice. He unnecessarily damages Van Hooijdonk. I actually think he should apologize, because it’s just not true.”