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In a column published on Friday by NRC, a Dutch writer examined a series of public events ranging from a football match to a political talk show.
The column opened by describing an unexpected scene after an Eredivisie football match between FC Twente and Ajax, where FC Twente forward Wout Weghorst and Ajax striker Tolu Arokodare held hands on the pitch and prayed together after a 2-2 draw. NOS reported that Weghorst explained after the match, “We kennen elkaar goed en hebben al vaak mooie gesprekken gehad over het geloof.”
Weghorst stated regarding their history, “Hij kwam toen na de wedstrijd naar mij toe voor tips. Sindsdien hebben we altijd contact gehouden en hebben we vele mooie gesprekken gehad, ook over de Heer.”
Describing the moment on the pitch, Weghorst stated, “We zijn allebei gelovig en we bedankten elkaar. We hebben elkaar nu een dikke knuffel gegeven en toen zei hij: zullen we even samen bidden? Toen hebben we even samen bedankt. Het was een mooie middag, een mooie voetbalmiddag. We zijn allebei belangrijk geweest.”
The NRC columnist questioned what the players were praying for, mentioning possibilities including the crowd chanting insults, a 200,000-person demonstration in Amsterdam calling for peace and an end to violence in Gaza, or former VVD politician Halbe Zijlstra appearing on the talk show Pauw & De Wit.
Zijlstra blundered during the broadcast by stating that someone is considered a millionaire when they possess 80,000 euros, rather than 80,000 euros in net profit from investments exceeding one million, which journalist Elodie Verweij explained to him live on television.
The author of the column also suggested the well-paid football players might have prayed because they sensed an extra millionaires’ tax would pass through the House of Representatives, forcing them to pay up.
The piece concluded by describing neighbors along the Amsterdam canal district packing their bags for an exodus of wealthy individuals to destinations such as the Virgin Islands, Jersey, the Bahamas, and the Seychelles, while noting that the king does not pay taxes and is not affected.
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