Vaessen on Suriname duty: โ€œNice to get away from the Netherlands for a whileโ€

Etienne Vaessen is away at the Gold Cup with the Suriname national team, and has found his international involvement a happy escape from recent controversy in the Netherlands.

The FC Groningen goalkeeper was in the news last month after he was seen fighting at the end of his sideโ€™s clash with Ajax. After the match, a brawl broke out and Vaessen lashed out at Felipe Sanchez Mateos, then assistant coach of the Amsterdammers.

โ€œItโ€™s nice to be away from the Netherlands for a while and that I can leave this behind me. At a certain point, it was all about that and not about the good season I had,โ€ Vaessen reflected in an interview with De Telegraaf.

โ€œOf course Iโ€™m upset about how things turned out, but I accepted the punishment and drew a line under it for myself now,โ€ said Vaessen.

Natioย will play its opening match against Costa Rica on June 16. Suriname will later face Mexico and the Dominican Republic in the group stage.

GBeNeFNย |ย Max Bradfield

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