By Jeroen van Barneveld
Jul 14, 2023 at 7:37 AMUpdate: 13 minutes ago
Merel van Dongen says sorry to New Zealanders who felt hurt by her comment in the infamous ‘haka video’. According to the Orange International, it was “absolutely not my intention” to mock the haka.
“I did not realize at all what it would cause,” Van Dongen said to NU.nl on Friday in Sydney. “It was absolutely not my intention to make fun of the haka. If I’ve hurt people with it, I’ll say sorry to them. It won’t happen again.”
Van Dongen recently came under fire in New Zealand, one of the two host countries of the upcoming World Cup. In a video from two weeks ago, you can see how she shouts ‘haka, New Zealand’ on the training field in the Netherlands. Those images were pasted behind a squat exercise by teammate Sherida Spitse.
This made it seem as if Van Dongen and Spitse were mocking the haka. Everyone is free to do the ceremonial dance, as long as it is done with respect for the Maori – the original inhabitants of New Zealand.
At first there was no fuss about it. When four Spanish players clearly imitated the haka last weekend, the turnips were done in New Zealand and the video with Van Dongen and Spitse came by. Then both players became part of an international row. The KNVB then took the images offline.
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Van Dongen has studied the haka
Van Dongen says three days later that he found the fuss “annoying”. “But it’s not that I let myself be pulled out of the bubble very much.” The Orange has been staying in Sydney since Saturday in preparation for the World Cup, which will start for the Netherlands on July 23 in New Zealand.
“A tournament is like being in quarantine together. We train, eat, sleep, talk about football and watch video footage. There is little time left for other things. From the outside you might think it’s hugely distracting or that I I’ve been really sorry. But I haven’t even had time to think about it.”
After all the consternation, Van Dongen has immersed himself in New Zealand culture. “The fuss surprised me at first. When I saw the video for the first time, it didn’t ring a bell. Of course I went to see why people find it annoying.”
“Everyone should do that if you’ve done something that people find annoying. I hope people will do the same if I find something annoying. I immediately went to see what the haka exactly is. That people learn from each other is only nice is not it?”
Van Dongen thinks it is logical that Spitse does not speak to the press. “Sherida literally didn’t do anything with the haka. Nothing at all. Zero. She doesn’t belong at all. I didn’t talk to her about it at all.”
The Dutch national team is currently preparing for the World Cup in Sydney. Photo: ANP
Jonker: ‘This is really about nothing’
National coach Andries Jonker bit a lot brighter. He can’t believe that people think that Spitse imitated the haka. In reality, she was squatting and screaming in the process, just as physical trainer René Wormhoudt had instructed her to do. This is to evoke the “inner strength from the core of the body”.
“It does not remotely resemble a haka as the Maori do,” says Jonker, who saw with his own eyes how the haka is performed last year at the draw in the New Zealand capital Auckland, against NU.nl. He also knew the dance from the New Zealand rugby players.
“What those men did there has nothing to do with what we did. If I kick a stone, I’m not playing football either? This is really about nothing. I’m not just saying that, it’s the facts. “
“Thousands of people have seen it after the film was released. The media included. People with New Zealand roots also live in the Netherlands and people with knowledge of New Zealand live in the Netherlands.”
“Nobody has said anything about it, absolutely nobody. And suddenly we get the sound that it is not good. If that is the case, Merel apologizes. I know that Merel had no intention of offending anyone. Really Not a single one.”
Andries Jonker has discussed the riot with, among others, captain Sherida Spitse. Photo: Getty Images
“We’re not stupid, are we?”
Jonker did discuss the subject with his 25 players once the riot was a fact. The national coach has instructed them not to make any sounds or movements that could even resemble the haka. “That is not appreciated and we should avoid it. Cameras register movements, but cannot smell what you mean.”
“We would like the support of the New Zealanders and I have therefore told them that we received an extremely warm and friendly welcome there at the draw. They also know that both countries use the tournament to show the original roots of the cultures .”
“That’s very good. Why would our team object to that? We’re not stupid, are we? If we want to have the support of the people, we’re not going to offend them, are we? We’re not that stupid, are we?”
“If there is one group that stands for what all those FIFA captaincy bands stand for, it is the Dutch women’s team. The Netherlands is also a country that respects other cultures. A large part of our population comes from a different culture “The others are used to traveling and adapting. This does not suit the Netherlands. This is the end of it. After today we will say nothing more about it.”
Jonker does not want a conversation about New Zealand culture
Staff members of the Dutch national team have had frequent contact with employees of the Dutch embassy in New Zealand in recent months. The riot has also been discussed in recent days.
National coach Andries Jonker is not waiting for a catch-up session about culture in New Zealand if his team were approached for it. “The people who have been in contact with the embassy have explained what happened. They don’t have to tell me what we should and shouldn’t do in New Zealand. We understand that ourselves.”
“We evaluate every day with the entire staff. The staff members know what happened and what I said to the players about it. After that we are all on the same page. We all think we have meant no harm. Those girls have accidentally stepped on toes. That’s all.”
2023-07-14 05:37:59
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