Trainer Mark Wotte was suspended by Al Wahda after one practice match on Thursday. The other Dutch people on the staff, including assistant coach Alfons Groenendijk, also have to leave the club from the United Arab Emirates to their surprise.
59-year-old Wotte started last year as technical director at Al Wahda and became trainer this summer. Groenendijk, Dennis Gentenaar and Michael Lindeman signed with the club of former PSV and Vitesse striker Tim Matavz this summer.
Under the leadership of the Dutch, Al Wahda lost a friendly match against Al Ain 4-1, while other exhibition matches were canceled due to the corona virus. Al Wahda’s first match in the Asian Champions League, which was to be played next week, has also been postponed, because a player tested positive.
The staff and players were also quarantined for two weeks. Wotte did not agree, expressed this to club management and that turned out to be the reason for his departure.
“Everyone here is tested every three days. I have already been tested eight or nine times myself. I indicated that I did not think it wise to quarantine the entire squad, if only one player is infected. I suggested. to test everyone again and just keep training with the healthy players “, says Wotte against WE.
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Alfons Groenendijk left ADO Den Haag in December. (Photo: Pro Shots)
‘I’ve never experienced this before’
The former coach of Willem II, RKC Waalwijk and FC Utrecht received an email stating that he will be fired. “Of course I am used to something, because I have worked in Qatar, Morocco and Egypt, but I have never experienced this”, continues Wotte, who during the preparation did not always agree with the club management of the four-time national champion.
“Managers here don’t like to be contradicted, I knew that, but I didn’t expect this.”
Al Wahda does not report on the official channels about the dismissal of the Dutch, but the club has already presented a new trainer. Serbian Vuk Rasovic succeeds Wotte.
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