Jermaine Jenas, Match of the Day presenter and TV pundit, revealed how a brazen incident on the pitch between Rafael van der Vaart and Benoit Assou-Ekotto led to them brawling in the showers after the match.
Van der Vaart and Assou-Ekotto were two players known to be big names in the Spurs squad at the time, so it’s no surprise they fell out.
Jenas spoke with William Hill’s Stripped Podcast (via the Daily Star) about how Rafael van der Vaart’s actions led to a shower fight with defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto.
He said:
“There was a moment at Tottenham when both Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Rafael van der Vaart wanted to take a free kick.
“Rafa wanted to take the free kick, but Benoit didn’t have any of that, so when Benoit was ready to take it, Rafa just sneaked up and took it on the sly!
“We walk in (after the game), everyone is changing and all of a sudden I hear this commotion in the showers. “They are Rafa and Benoit, naked! He stopped almost immediately, but it just goes to show that these things happen a lot, just not on the field.”
Assou-Ekotto has previously spoken out about the incident, claiming it only brought them closer together. In a previous interview with The Athletic, he stated:
“In fact, we once had a fight in the locker room over free throws. I had an expectation about that, and after that we became even closer.”
“On Sunday I had the fight with him, then a few days later he gave me the ball and I scored against Everton. He was happy and we were close.”
