Bayern Munich fans haven't forgiven Arjen Robben for his Champions League final penalty miss

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Bayern Munich fans haven't forgiven Arjen Robben for his Champions League final penalty miss

23/05/2012 5:59 pm

Just three days after he missed a crucial penalty in the Champions League final, Bayern Munich fans let Dutch winger Arjen Robben know exactly what they thought of him last night.

The player was part of a friendly match between Bayern and his international side Holland last night at the club’s Allianz Arena – the venue of Saturday’s final – and the Dutchman’s extra-time penalty miss was clearly still a sore topic for a section the German team’s fans.

In front of 33,000 fans last night, Robben was subjected to constant booing as he lined up against Bayern in his Holland shirt, a reception that the Dutch manager Bert van Marwijk described as “scandalous”.

“It’s scandalous the way in which Arjen was treated on Tuesday in Munich,” he said. “Arjen was really down about it but I hope that he will emerge stronger from the experience.”

Robben’s Dutch teammates felt the same regarding the surprisingly severe negative reaction, with former Bayern star Mark von Bommel echoing Van Marwijk’s outraged reaction.

“It’s shocking what happened to Arjen,” said the midfielder. “And no club officials seemed to want to do anything about it. If I were him, I would be asking myself whether I still want to play for the club.”

Eventually, however, a response from the club arrived in the form of Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who stated that while he understood fans’ disappointment, “that doesn’t give anyone the right to boo our player.”

"Robben was disappointed and saddened like all other players, fans and friends of Bayern over the unfortunate and undeserved defeat on penalties in the Champions League final against Chelsea," he told the club's official website.
"Today we have received many reactions from our fans who apologise to Robben on behalf of those who jeered.”


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Emmet Purcell
Emmet Purcell
Liffey Champion Short Story of the Week winner, March 1996
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