Bayern legend Arjen Robben berates elderly referee and shoves father during U14 match: ‘I thought it was a joke’

Bayern Munich legend Arjen Robben is just as competitive in retirement.

The eight-time Bundesliga winner stopped playing in 2021 with his first side Groningen in 2021 and is now coaching their Under-14s.

At the weekend his side took on Victoria U14s and Robben was filmed losing his cool.

Multiple onlookers caught the former winger repeatedly berating the referee who appeared to be both elderly and not in peak condition.

At half-time he got particularly aggressive, and then when a father came over to break things up, Robben was filmed shoving him out of the way and shouting: “You shouldn’t meddle in this.”

Little did Robben know, but the man he shoved was actually a local celebrity and TV presenter, Wilfred Genee.

Shoved by Arjen Robben

Recounting the incident on his show, Genee said: “At half-time, it was 1-0 for my son’s team.

“Robben gets very angry about a goal kick. He had been swearing at that referee for the entire first half.

“It really makes you think: man, just act normal.

“So I walked up to him to tell him not to get so worked up. But he gave me a shove and I think he said ‘pancake’ too.

“At first I thought it was a joke. I had been sitting there looking so surprised; that referee was really a bit flustered by all that shouting.

“In the second half, Robben also ran onto the pitch and kept going at that referee until he disallowed one of our goals.

“He is driven, always wants to win, but as an example, this is very clumsy.”

The referee, Jan Faessen, later explained his version of events and that he was a fan of Robben.

@voetbalprimeur

Beelden die je niet dagelijks ziet: Arjen Robben, trainer van FC Groningen O14, discussieert met de scheidsrechter en als Wilfred Genee zich ermee komt bemoeien, is hij er even helemaal klaar mee!🫣👀 #robben #groningen

♬ origineel geluid – voetbalprimeur

“I initially awarded a goal kick, but later decided on a corner,” he told AD.

“I thought I was right. Moreover, the linesman kept his flag down. And no goal resulted from it, so it wasn’t decisive.

“We didn’t discuss the incident any further after that [the shove].”

Faessen then added that he initially requested a photo with Robben but was told to wait until afterwards.

“He said: ‘Do that after the match. Otherwise, you’ll get gossip,’” he recalled.

“That photo with Arjen never happened afterwards. On second thought, I could have taken a selfie with him, of course. Didn’t think of it.”