Former Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart made controversial remarks, allegedly racist, while commenting on Japan's 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in the group stage, leading to an awkward moment.
In the NOS live studio, Van der Vaart reviewed the Dutch team's second-half performance. The Oranje had led twice in the match but ultimately squandered the win. The commentator believed that the Netherlands' failure to press for another goal after taking the lead was entirely self-inflicted.
Van der Vaart stated: "The second half started to pick up. There were some attacks, and the game opened up. Then the Netherlands scored that goal, but then you notice that the team's formation inexplicably dropped back again. That's somewhat self-inflicted. You should have capitalized on the momentum and pressed for more."
Analyzing the last-minute equalizer that led to the 2-2 score, Van Hooijdonk pointed the finger directly at Van de Ven. The former veteran striker believed that Van de Ven let his direct opponent (Koki Ogawa) get away from him when defending the decisive corner kick.
Van der Vaart responded: "Perfect corner kicks are indeed extremely difficult to defend. The ball speed was just right, and although it took a bit of luck to go in, it was indeed a beautiful corner kick."
However, Van der Vaart then uttered a remark that instantly plunged the studio into an awkward silence: "Of course, they (Japanese players) do all look quite similar, maybe Van de Ven thought the same… that's just a joke, of course."
Van Hooijdonk replied: "These days, you really do have to quickly add an explanation after making a joke like that."
Van der Vaart then self-deprecatingly said: "I feel like I can't say anything anymore."