Van der Vaart faces backlash after racist joke about Japan players on Dutch TV

Rafael van der Vaart is facing criticism after making a racially insensitive remark about Japan’s players during live television coverage of the Netherlands’ 2-2 World Cup draw with Japan on Sunday.

The former Tottenham and Real Madrid midfielder, working as a pundit for Dutch broadcaster NOS, made the comment while analysing Daichi Kamada’s late equaliser. Watching a replay of the corner that led to the goal, Van der Vaart suggested that Netherlands defender Micky van de Ven may have been confused by the Japanese players’ appearance.

“They do look alike, of course, maybe he thought that,” the 43-year-old said, before quickly adding: “That’s a joke, of course. I hardly dare say anything.”

It has not been confirmed whether Van der Vaart will face any formal punishment for the comments.

The remark overshadowed what had been an otherwise lively piece of punditry from the former Dutch international, who also delivered a blunt verdict on captain Virgil van Dijk’s performance at the half-time break. “I have to be honest: I was quite shocked by Van Dijk,” he said. “With him, I thought: that doesn’t look good. Especially while turning. It is proving very difficult. A bit like a Boeing 747 turning. I hope he starts turning a bit faster during the tournament.”

On the pitch, the Netherlands twice led but were pegged back each time, with Japan earning a point that Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman acknowledged was no surprise given the Asian side’s quality. “Many people underestimate Japan, but for the 100,000th time, if you underestimate them, that’s your problem,” Koeman said after the match.

Koeman was candid about his side’s need to improve as the tournament progresses. “It is our minimal standard, I should say. We need to grow during the tournament. We need to perform better,” he said, adding that there were still “quite a lot of positive moments” to take from the result.

The Netherlands will look to claim their first win of the tournament when they face Sweden, who opened their campaign with a 5-1 victory over Tunisia.