May 31, 2021 – Matthijs de Ligt found himself in the eye of a storm of criticism on Friday after he indicated in an interview that he did not want to be vaccinated against the corona virus. On Saturday he came back to that statement: as soon as he can, he will take the jab. In an interview in the Monday edition of Faithful explains 21-year-old De Ligt why he initially stated that he did not want the vaccine and made a U-turn less than a day later.
De Ligt told on Friday in front of the camera of ESPN that he was one of the players of the Dutch national team who chose not to be vaccinated against the corona virus. “It is not mandatory. I think you should be in charge of your own body. The risk of infection is always there. I try to come into contact with as few people as possible outside the Dutch national team,” he said.
The Juventus player has now seen the interview again. “It was not a well-considered opinion. We as players could all get vaccinated in Zeist on Wednesday, but I was not around. I was with family that day, with my grandmother in Heeze. I just wanted to wait with vaccination until my age.” it was his turn,” he now says in the above newspaper.
“I hadn’t really thought about it that way yet,” the 26-time Orange international continues. “As a football player you always live in a bubble. I was not ready to decide about it yet. Then my words were blown up considerably. I understand that, because there is a discussion going on. That is why I thought it was good to send my tweet later. to give real opinion.”
De Ligt’s statement was all the more striking because he lives in hard-hit northern Italy and his father is a pharmacist. “Yes, but I did not discuss it with him. I now know: you do not only take the vaccine for yourself, you also do it for the people around you. That is why I also want it so that we have more freedom again. And I don’t want to think that I suddenly get corona for a very important match of the Dutch national team.”
De Ligt has noticed in recent days that he is under a magnifying glass. “I’m used to it a bit. You now notice that the European Championship is coming. It is now important for us that we remain united, with everything that happens around us. We should not be guided by peripheral matters. But I wouldn’t be honest if I say it doesn’t affect me at all, what all those other national coaches in the Netherlands think of us.”
