A strange coincidence on Sunday in the top match against Union (0–0): at Anderlecht, both Majeed Ashimeru and Jan Vertonghen vomited on the field. It happens more often with the Red Devil. “But he is not worried about it at all and is not bothered by it,” says Mathias Declercq, Anderlecht’s press manager. “He has known about it for a long time and has it completely under control.”
We saw the defender empty his stomach for the first time on the field at the 2014 World Cup in the round of 16 against the US before the start of extra time. It also happened to him at Tottenham and Benfica (in a top match against Porto). Lionel Messi suffered from vomiting during matches for years, although he has recently come to grips with it by adjusting his diet. Other footballers we saw vomiting on the pitch: Jude Bellingham, Portuguese defender Pepe, Per Mertesacker, Brecht Dejaegere, Thibaut Courtois, Atalanta defender Sead Kolasinac…
Stress reduction
Gastrointestinal problems are more common in endurance athletes, especially marathon runners, ultrarunners and triathletes, who consume large amounts of carbohydrates and fluids during intense exercise. The fact that the gastrointestinal tract of football players is less burdened does not rule out that they too may suffer from it. Football players are confronted with pressure and stress, especially in top matches. Because vomiting actually starts between the ears.
“Vomiting and nausea are controlled from the vomiting center in the brain,” explains Danny De Looze, gastrointestinal specialist at Ghent University Hospital. “The vomiting center can be activated by stress hormones. One is more sensitive to it than the other. Jan Vertonghen is an experienced footballer, but that has nothing to do with it. You also have experienced artists who have been performing for decades and still have stage fright and vomiting.”
“We see a decrease in gastrointestinal complaints when we reduce stress in athletes, for example with the help of a sports psychologist,” confirms independent researcher Daan Hoogervorst. He wrote guidelines for sports dietitians in the Netherlands and has had his company Zuiver Nutrition since 2021. “It is more common in endurance sports, but also in top football there are triggers such as stress, the challenging food choice due to the varying hours at which matches are played, hydration and heat, especially for bad sweaters.”
Messi as an example
Hoogervorst can follow the explanation that Vertonghen has his vomiting problem under control. “In a study with ultrarunners who ran 120 kilometers, everyone had complaints, but no one experienced them so intensely that they had to stop. What is striking is that the vomit of athletes is more liquid than usual, which makes the vomiting even more intense and spectacular: the food comes up quickly, so that little or no moisture has been extracted. Liquid nutrition is also often used for competitions.”
Sports dietitian Gino Devriendt, who works for the Red Flames, AA Gent and KMSK Deinze and in the past for Club Brugge and Anderlecht, also saw a seasoned football player in his practice who suffered from vomiting. “He was a man in his thirties with a lot of experience, who put a lot of pressure on himself and still experienced stress when he got out of the catacombs,” says Devriendt.
“Tension can build up on the stomach pouch that holds food and fluid. In combination with high-intensity runs, this can cause problems. For the player I coached, the solution was a combination of stress reduction with a sports psychologist and adapted nutrition. Team athletes often eat the same meals at the same time before competitions, but those meals would best be adapted for players with gastrointestinal problems. Lionel Messi has also been freed from his vomiting problem by adjusting his diet.”
