Italy kick too much, says Kuyt
Tuesday 17 November, 2009
Holland international striker Dirk Kuyt has accused Italy of playing dirty during Saturday's friendly in Pescara.
The match ended 0-0, suggesting a bore draw, but it was remarkable for Giorgio Chiellini's tackle on Robin van Persie, which left the Arsenal man with partially torn ankle ligaments.
He will now fly to Serbia for an unconventional course of treatment involving the placenta from a horse, which will be rubbed into his ankle in a bid to reduce his recovery time to six weeks.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Kuyt said: “I was very disappointed. We played a friendly against a big country - Italy - and if you see the way they kicked us it's very sad, very sad for the Dutch team and also very sad for Robin because he was in great form.
“I think it was a bad tackle. Sometimes you think about this when you play a friendly for your country there should be more respect for each other and hopefully it won't happen in the future.”
Everton and Holland centre-back Johnny Heitinga also expressed his regret that van Persie got injured.
“It's hard for a team, but harder for himself as he has been playing well for the last couple of months and he was one of the best players in the Premier League.
“I hope for him he recovers soon,” Heitinga concluded.
