Etienne Vaessen explains in detailed statement what really happened during Guatemala v Suriname

Etienne Vaessen has issued a lengthy statement on the FC Groningen website about the events during and after the Nations League match between Guatemala and Suriname (1-0).

Tensions spilled over in the Guatemala v Suriname match on Monday night into Tuesday morning. The home side snatched a 1-0 win in the closing stages after the referee had sent off Richonell Margaret.

After the final whistle, images of Vaessen quickly spread across social media, showing him clashing with several Guatemala players and officials. He also made an obscene gesture towards the crowd as he left the pitch.

In his explanation on FC Groningen's website, he said: "I should have been sensible and should have walked away. But I stood up for my team-mates and I think that is very human. As a person, you are vulnerable when an injustice is done and no action is taken against it."

Vaessen says the players and staff of both countries had agreed to walk straight off the pitch after the match because of the racism. There was even brief talk of stopping the match. The Guatemala players had also apologised during the game for the behaviour of their fans.

That changed when the country managed to win the match in stoppage time. "They scored the winner just before time and after the final whistle they still went over at length to thank the crowd, and when we went to confront them, they called us a ‘shit country’ and pushing and shoving broke out. We should have kept ourselves under control and stayed away from this situation, but unfortunately we did not manage that."

He added: "We were provoked from the first minute and the most terrible racist things were shouted at us. It was as if we were playing football in a cage that we could not escape from," Vaessen said.

Vaessen ends by saying he is happy to be back at Groningen. On Sunday, Groningen travel to Rotterdam for the away game against Excelsior.