Football journalist Martijn Krabbendam has revealed why he’s been banned from Arsenal since 2004 after he reported on Robin van Persie’s car crash.
Van Persie spent eight years with Arsenal after arriving in a €4.5m deal from Feyenoord in July 2004.
He went on to establish himself as something of an icon for the Gunners, making 278 appearances for the club and scoring 132 goals, as well as registering 58 assists.
His time with the club also saw him win the FA Cup in 2004-05 and the Community Shield, as well as finishing as a runner up in the Champions League the following season.
While the 04/05 season ended well for him personally, things at Arsenal did not get off to a good start, with Van Persie hitting the headlines for the wrong reason when he was involved in a car accident in October 2004.
The incident saw the Dutchman become the subject of a police inquiry after he hit the central reservation on the M25 at high speed, with his BMW overturning, and skidding across the road.
Van Persie was left unharmed but left the scene, only to be tracked down to Arsenal’s Colney training ground, where he was questioned.
Naturally, the Gunners wanted to avoid the incident becoming headline news, but it did, partly due to Krabbendam, who was subsequently punished after making “a little box” of the incident for Voetbal International.
“I had been with Robin van Persie at Arsenal. Robin always talked well about soccer, but then he had also caused that accident on the M25,” he told MSN.
“Stopping the print is a bit difficult because it’s in the store tomorrow. Lawyers there and all that. I was never allowed to join Arsenal again.
“When you experience that for the first time, of course you get nervous. But Johan said: ‘Then we won’t go to Arsenal anymore, will we? That was a good story!’.”
