The celebrations surrounding Paris Saint-Germain’s record breaking Ligue 1 title triumph have been marred by reports that Zlatan Ibrahimovic fought with teammate Gregory van der Wiel at half-time in the 9-0 win over Troyes. PSG have issued the Dutchman a fine for leaving the game midway and subsequently disrupting a charity celebratory ball.
According to a report in French daily L’Equipe, Ibrahimovic had cornered van der Wiel during half-time as PSG led Troyes 3-0. However, the Swede was upset that he had yet to score and commanded his Dutch teammate to provide better service, saying “Give me better passes.”
Van der Wiel acknowledged his illlustrious teammate’s wish, replying back in English “I am doing what I can. If I can, I will.” Zlatan did not take too kindly to the fullback’s non-committal answer, condescendingly responding “Listen, play as I tell you and everything will be fine.”
The Dutchman reacted rather badly, telling Zlatan to “f*** off” as the two became involved in a physical altercation. PSG captain Thiago Silva had to intervene and successfully managed to separate the pair, although Van der Wiel requested manager Laurent Blanc to substitute him at half time and did not stay to watch PSG hammer Troyes 9-0, with Zlatan scoring 4 goals in the second half.
Van der Wiel punished
Since PSG’s rightback left the stadium midway, he was notably absent from the post match celebrations as cameras invaded the pitch to capture PSG’s joy at the earliest title win in Europe’s top 5 leagues. While the French champions could have explained that incident away by claiming an injury they had no answer to the Dutchman’s subsequent behaviour.
PSG organized a celebratory champion’s gala event that saw all the players in attendance, along with important club officials. The players all arived together, except for Van der Wiel, who turned up separately. As such, the Parisian club’s sporting director, Olivier Letang, confirmed at the UEFA Champions League draw in Nyon, that the Dutchman was fined €1,60,000 for his behaviour.
The club have had a terrible problem with the attitude of their right-backs lately, with the Dutchman only making the first team in recent weeks after Serge Aurier’s outster from the squad for inappropriate comments about Zlatan Ibrahimovic and manager Laurent Blanc. Van der Wiel’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and the Dutchman has surely placed the final nail in the coffin of his Parisian career.
