Ex-Dutch Footballers Dirk Kuyt and Wesley Sneijder Questioned as Witnesses in Gambling Case

Two former Netherlands international football players have been questioned by Dutch Police, according to reports. 

Former Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt and Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder are the latest footballers to be questioned as witnesses in relation to a gambling site with alleged connections with a criminal organisation led by The Hague “Godfather” Piet S.

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The former Dutch football stars represented their national team at the 2010 World Cup, including the Final against Spain. Kuyt also starred for Liverpool in the Premier League between 2006-12, making over 200 league appearances in that time. Sneijder is best known for his time at Inter Milan, where he won the treble under Jose Mourinho in the 2009-10 season. 

Police claim that both Kuyt and Sneijder gambled on the now-defunct betting website Edobet, which the Dutch Public Prosecution Service says was established by Freddy S, Piet’s son.

Both former Holland players were reportedly interviewed by Police earlier this year. Sneijder gave a statement in January alongside Kuyt following the suit in February 2021. Authorities were alerted to their involvement in the case after there were messaged found on EncroChat, an encrypted chat network primarily used by organised crime gangs before it was infiltrated during a joint European investigation. 

The messages contained information about the player’s gambling habits, detailing that Sneijder had failed to pay his debts, and his family were also threatened. According to Dutch news outlet NOS, the messages said: “We are no longer going to ask for money, just have them kicked into the hospital first. May also be a female, as long as it is someone from that family. His mother, aunt, grandmother, I don’t care who.”

These reports state that Sneijder has denied ever gambled on the Edobet side, but according to AD, he was approached by people “who said he was in debt and that he would guarantee Wout van K,” who Sneijder identified as “my father’s cousin, seen once”.