"I almost lost it": BVB flop Emre Mor causes a stir in the Netherlands with bizarre earring incident

Once hailed as the "Turkish Messi", Emre Mor joined Borussia Dortmund and has since had a colourful career with few sporting highlights. He is now 29 years old and has ended up at NEC Nijmegen in the Netherlands.

"I almost lost it," said a relieved Dick Schreuder after the final whistle. Emre Mor had pushed the NEC Nijmegen coach to the brink. The Turkish winger, who joined Borussia Dortmund in 2017 for just under €10 million from his country of birth Denmark, has already tested plenty of coaches in his career with his indiscipline and sporting carelessness. But probably never in quite such bizarre fashion as on the evening of 11 August.

NEC, the Eredivisie's surprise third-placed side the previous year, were hosting Olympiakos Piraeus in the third round of Champions League qualifying, fittingly one of Mor's former clubs. The first leg had finished 0-0, and the decider at De Goffert began with a blow for the home side when winger Sami Ouaissa limped off injured after a good half-hour.

Mor was supposed to replace him straight away. He did not. It took two minutes and 49 seconds, hand-timed, before Mor finally stepped on to the pitch. He could not get his earring out.

Emre Mor at NEC Nijmegen: Curious earring incident before matchwinner goal

On the touchline, Mor stood surrounded by most of the furious Nijmegen bench, including Schreuder, while they fiddled with the ear of the now 29-year-old. Schreuder had seen enough.

"In the end I wanted to pull it out myself. Last week he was allowed to play with a plaster over it. At this level it is dreadful to play with a man fewer for that long. That really has to change," he said later. Alex Pastoor, former coach and now TV pundit for Ziggo Sport, said: "I think he thought: just cut his whole ear off!"

By the 30th minute, Mor finally made it on with both ears intact and, crucially, without an earring. He then turned the tie. After going 1-0 down, Nijmegen dragged themselves into extra time, and in the 95th minute Mor struck for 2-1, the final score, before celebrating in tears. It was his first goal in a competitive match for 542 days. Back then, in February 2025, he was still playing for Turkish top-flight club Eyüpspor.

Emre Mor missed the entire 2025/26 season at Fenerbahce

That winner softened Schreuder's mood over the earring saga: "He made up for it a little by scoring the winner." The fact he hauled off the exhausted substitute ten minutes after the goal links back to Mor's murky recent history.

While under contract at Fenerbahce, he missed the entire previous season because the Istanbul club did not register him for competition. Fener stayed quiet on the reasons. Turkish journalists reported a stomach problem.

At 1.69 metres, Mor is a dribbler with quick feet, and he has said he wants to speak about his difficult recent spell at the right time. After the night against Piraeus, though, he was mostly enjoying the spotlight, something that had followed him at the start of his career but had been missing for a long while.

"Argentina have the Hand of God, we have Mor's ear"

"This is what you dream of as a footballer, especially in my situation. I did not have an easy two years," said Mor. "Then to come on in such an important game and score the winning goal - I don't think you can even put into words how good that feels."

As for the earring, Mor said: "I said to the coach: sorry, I had never heard that you are not allowed to cover the earring with tape." The 15-cap international added: "I couldn't get it out, so I just pulled it out of my ear. It bled, but everything is fine."

Mor also explained why he had been wearing it to play football in the first place: "I don't wear it because I think it looks nice. It's something from Japan or China that's supposed to help with sleeping." Journalist Marcel Rözer wrapped up the evening in his column for regional newspaper De Gelderlander: "Argentina have the Hand of God, we have Mor's ear."

How did Emre Mor end up in the Netherlands at NEC Nijmegen?

After leaving Dortmund, Mor also played for Celta Vigo, Galatasaray and Fatih Karagümrük, so how did he end up in the east of the Netherlands? He became available on a free after Fenerbahce declined to extend his contract. Agent Nima Modyr then set about finding him a club, working with Carlos Aalbers, NEC's technical director since 2022.

"We've known each other for a very long time," the 62-year-old said of his connection to Modry. "We spoke on the phone and Nima described Emre's situation to me. Because of personal circumstances, he had taken a fairly long break from football." Nijmegen then invited Mor for a trial. "We spoke about Emre in detail. Then we had a video call with him. Dick Schreuder spoke with him while he was on holiday in Marbella. Of course everyone knows Emre, but his career was on a downward trend. We will see whether we can reverse that trend again and whether we can help each other."

During that spell, Mor trained with the squad and played friendly matches as a right winger. In his first 20-minute outing against amateur club De Treffers, he laid on the assist for the 1-1 final score. Soon after, he was in the starting XI against Duisburg. That was enough for the club's decision-makers. Mor signed a contract until 2028.

"Exceptional qualities": Emre Mor injured in Nijmegen

"I am very grateful to the club. They want to make me happy again, that was the most important thing," said Mor. "I will not negotiate over money. Money means absolutely nothing to me. Sorry for saying that so directly. I just want to enjoy myself again, and the club are supporting me in that. Everyone is behind me and that feels good." Aalbers was equally delighted: "Emre has exceptional qualities. Players of his calibre are normally out of our reach."

So far, though, Nijmegen have not seen much of those qualities. Last year's surprise package have made a modest start to the new year. In the league they sit only 11th after three defeats in seven games, and their Europa League league phase campaign, after Bodö/Glimt knocked them out in the Champions League play-offs, began disastrously with a 5-0 defeat at Juventus Turin.

Part of that comes down to the club's severe injury problems. Mor has been caught up in them too, missing time once through illness and twice because of the after-effects of a workload that is still unfamiliar to him. "The coach demands a lot of me physically and I haven't played for a whole year, so I have to take it step by step," he said.

Emre Mor often lacked mentality and physical stability

Right now, Mor is out with a groin injury that is expected to keep him sidelined until mid-October. That is especially frustrating because the long international break would have given him the chance to work extensively on his fitness. Now he can do that only to a limited extent.

Back at the start of July, when Mor was on trial, Schreuder had said: "For him, it's no longer about money, that's no longer an obstacle. Perhaps that is exactly what gives him the peace of mind he needs to play freely again." In recent years, though, several other coaches before Schreuder had also pinned their hopes on that, from Thomas Tuchel in Dortmund to Juan Carlos Unzue in Vigo.

Few managed to instil the right mentality and physical stability in Mor, who was once labelled the "Turkish Messi". He has the qualities to decide matches. Too often, though, he lacked the basics of team football: tactical discipline, persistence, diligence, but also spatial awareness, decision-making and, quite simply, realism.

Emre Mor "just a loser who tried one more time"?

On that night of 11 August, Mor said: "I hope this goal is the turning point that I will now enjoy." He now has seven games and 236 minutes to his name, and instead of another goal he has managed one assist. He has started only once, and not yet in the league.

After his move to the ninth different professional club of his career, Mor wrote on Instagram: "A winner is just a loser who tried one more time." Whether this latest attempt will really bring the turning point he wants is impossible to know right now. But if the earring incident remains the loudest chapter of his time in Nijmegen, it would fit neatly into Mor's colourful career.

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