Michiel Kramer causes astonishment with revelation: 'All footballers use that!'

Michiel Kramer has looked back on the breaded croquette roll incident from December 2017 on Vandaag Inside. The now-retired striker is surprised he was fined €1,000 for it while snus is tolerated in professional football.

On Vandaag Inside, the panel revisited the incident from 21 December 2017. Cameras caught substitute Kramer eating a breaded croquette roll at half-time of the cup tie between Feyenoord and Heracles Almelo.

Speaking about it, Kramer said: “Casper van Eijck (the club doctor, ed.) always came from the hospital to all Feyenoord’s home matches. We were always there four hours beforehand, and he arrived about an hour and a half beforehand.”

He added: “So at half-time there were always breaded croquette rolls, healthy options and frikandellen ready. So I knew there was a roll there. And then we were messing about a bit in the kit room, and I was just eating one as well.”

Then came the punishment. Then technical director Martin van Geel handed Kramer a €1,000 fine. “Yes, that’s a very high one,” he says a little later on In de Wandelgangen. “At first I said it was a grilled sausage roll, and Martin didn’t mind that. But then I started thinking about it and had to come to the office at 10:00.”

Presenter Wilfred Genee points out that it comes with elite sport. Kramer replies: “Yes, elite sport. But Wilfred, you know that tobacco, don’t you? That snus.” That is a small pouch with nicotine or tobacco that you can place under your upper lip against your gums.

For Kramer, that is the bigger issue. “That is obviously much worse than a breaded croquette roll. But everyone in our dressing room used it. And they still do. They all do it. It makes you very calm. But that’s bad for you, isn’t it?” Kramer concludes.