AFC Ajax midfielder Abdellah Ouazane walked alone to the visitor’s dressing room after a 1-1 Eredivisie draw against N.E.C. Abdellah Ouazane went to the dressing room after a match against N.E.C. to apologize to Bryan Linssen for a tackle, N.E.C. general manager Wilco van Schaik revealed in a podcast.
Ouazane Apologizes in the N.E.C. Dressing Room After Johan Cruijff ArenA Match
The 17-year-old Ajax youth international sought out N.E.C. forward Bryan Linssen in the catacombs following the 1-1 league fixture. The incident occurred after the teenager, who had replaced Oscar Gloukh roughly thirty minutes from time, overran the ball and lunged into a high-speed sliding challenge.
The impact left Linssen in visible pain and forced the N.E.C. attacker to change his footwear because the collision destroyed his shoe. Referee Serdar Gözübüyük cautioned the Ajax midfielder with a yellow card, and the video assistant referee elected not to intervene.
Wilco van Schaik Details the Surprise Encounter in the Catacombs
N.E.C. general manager Wilco van Schaik recounted the unexpected encounter during the weekly podcast De Bestuurskamer produced by Voetbalzone. Van Schaik initially spotted the young player in the corridor outside the dressing rooms and redirected him toward the media room where Linssen was fulfilling press duties.
“I said that he was with the media, and then Ouazane said that he came to make his apologies,” Van Schaik stated. The club director asked the teenager if anyone had instructed him to visit the opposing team’s area. “He said no, he did it himself,” Van Schaik added.
Reporting from Puna.nl noted that Ouazane directly acknowledged the severity of the challenge to the N.E.C. executive. “I think I got away with it, and I want to apologize because I could have seriously injured him,” the 17-year-old told Van Schaik, who praised the player’s self-awareness and maturity.
Bryan Linssen Accepts Apology as Match Officials Face Scrutiny Over VAR Decision
When Linssen returned from media obligations and encountered the remorseful Ajax youngster in the hallway, the experienced forward dismissed the incident with a pragmatic response. According to Voetbalzone, Linssen told his youthful opponent, “Oh man, that can happen in football. I got away with it well.”
Nevertheless, N.E.C. personnel highlighted the encounter as a refreshing display of accountability from a rising academy prospect.
Development and International Career of the Ajax Youth Talent
Ouazane is regarded as one of the standout talents within the Ajax youth ranks. Following a prolonged period of deliberation between international representation for Morocco and the Netherlands, the midfielder definitively chose to play for Morocco last summer as a youth international. Under manager Míchel, he has steadily earned an increasing number of minutes in the first team during the current season.
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