... Probably not homophobia more than it is a distraction of sorts for the team--especially the two players. "Drama" notwithstanding, of course.

 I'd have to agree it's probably not ideal for teammates to date. 

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Lemonade is good.

I'll give Vera the benefit of the doubt for now, since I've also read that the relationship was already there when the girls went to the European Championships and it didn't seem a problem then. Not to mention that I've heard that they're hardly the only ones on the team who are gay. 

That not withstanding, it's a peculiar case with very little information put out in the press. 

BTW: according to the coach the rumour is 'absolute nonsense'.
She says the girls negatively affected the hierachy in the team. 

This is rather odd as the Netherlands is probably one of the most liberal countries in the world.. but homophobia exists everywhere..

i don't think it's homophobia but more of the case that their team is shockingly average for the coach's liking =]

it's like engladn 2 player play bad for like 2 games they're dropped , ironically they just happen to be in a relationship which will always affect your performance ,

the blonde one is a lil hot aswell :')

If the rejection of those two soccer players from the national team of the Netherlands really has something to do with their lesbian relationship, I am glad that Sylvia Neid (the German soccer coach for women) seems to be kind and in full support regarding to any possible tendencies or rumors which are spread around the media. I definitely will have an eye on the development of that story, because such accusations relate to every women's soccer team in Europe.

As much as it smells like homophobia, I tend to side with the coach: with two teamplayers in a relationship it will affect their game. I think she wants to avoid possible lesbian drama as well - goodness forbid the pair break up during a Cup tournament! 

_ _ _ _ _

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." (Dr. Seuss)

Its not about lesbianism, its about the drama that could arise from the situation.  Whatever...

she used to be the scotland national women's team coach, surprised she didn't do the same thing there!! unless she did and no one mentioned it...

On the KNVB (Royals Dutch Football Associaton) site Claudia v/d Heiligenberg responded ,,It's a story based on lies'' about these speculations.

Vera Pauw responded: Like we never anounce personal reasons we won't now, whatever people write or say. The accusation of a relotionship is the reason of their removal, is an insult towards me....

My translation skills aren't great but you get the point...

I think some people are missing the point about whether or not their relationship would affect their performances.

I'd like to think that both the players and the management can see that at the end of the day they are there to do a job and that is play soccer, it shouldn't matter that they might be in a relationship.

Maybe, just a thought!

In both women's and men's international football/soccer it is extremely common for players to get kicked off or not selected by the coach for their international team based on past or perceived future conflict they may inflict on their team. It even happens to the best players, you cause tension, you don't get called up because team chemistry is viewed as too important.

 It's also really common especially in Europe for female teammates to date. Conflicts arise when they breakup, like the infamous German love triangle from several years ago, and whoever is seen to cause the most tension on the team is often kicked off. In that case it was the best scorer in the German's women's league. Or sometimes players date and the coach gets mad at one and so the other player gets mad at the coach making even more drama. I doubt it's anything bigger than this.

Fraternization in the workplace, especially within professional sports leagues is a touchy subject. I seriously had to switch teams (no pun intended) when my former girlfriend and I played together. This was a semi-competitive league and yet we had trouble getting used to the fact that we were gravitating to different friendships within the team and that we had a different commitment to the sport. I doubt that our coach would have kicked us off were he able, but my point is that it does come up and there are conflicts that become inevitable. I hope that this unfortunate event is resolved, even though it seems that the players have come to terms with their exclusion. Best of luck to them!

Being 2 teammates involved in a relationship affects your game? I don't think so! Football is their jobs, and I'm sure they have a spirit of competition way higher above average. Beside, women's football is a small world, I'd bet a few coins that they're all friends to some extent so wouldn't that affect their performances too?

I think this is largely speculation, and not so much the truth. I'm from the Netherlands and I play soccer, and I've been in a team where two of the girls dated - break up? Not so good. I suppose that if the girls were really in a relationship, it's probably not going well for them right now and Vera Pauw wants to avoid the break-up-drama. But it might as well be another reason, and I don't think it's homophobia at all. If it turns out that it is Pauw will undoubtedly be removed as coach - homophobia, though of course it is present, even here, is not really accepted, especially when you're in a high position like Pauw is.

I don't think it was homophobia. For one the source of the news is a newspaper that's a bit more into sensational stuff than actual news, so they're not the most reliable. '

Anyway, if it were homophobia, I think the girls would've been shouting left and right about it. They must agree on some level that it was justified if they're just saying the reasons are personal, which the relationship wasn't because they'd been openly dating for quite a while.

Plus it would be a huge scandal. I mean, it became a huge scandal when gay police officers and army men/women weren't allowed to wear their uniform on a pride boat at the gay pride parade (eventually they were given permission). And it was a huge scandal when a gay teacher wasn't hired at a Christian school (still not fully resolved). Just to name a few.

And it's not just the gays protesting, but questions get asked in parliament how something like that can happen. In short, we don't take homophobia in stride.  

I have to agree with the majority of the comments, I really do not feel that they were let go due to homophobia.  We know break-ups cause tension and in a sport that requires a lot of chemistry and is a team sport, as difficult as it is, you have to let go of the problem.  I played soccer/football for years, and I can tell you that I've been on a lot of winning teams and a lot of losing teams, and a lot of the reasons we lost was because we didn't gel as a team.

The Dutch appear to be far more liberal than the states and while they may not make a "oo look at me, I'm gay" spectacle, they seem to be open.  Really, who cares if they are gay and if they're a great player and teammate and most importantly, winning, than know one should care either.

Hi ladies, I'm a moderatrix at feromoon and would like to inform you that an update was placed on the frontpage today. Unfortunately it's only in dutch for now... 

Naatj already wrote it: Both Claudia v/d Heiligenberg and Vera Pauw deny the allegations.  I would also like to mention that both players weren't sure of a place in the team even before the european championship.I will try to have the update-article translated asap...

It is a very interesting subject nevertheless and has brought me to the Afterellen-site at last....

Enjoy your day and/or evening.

Love

Jaguar

This has nothing to do with homophobia. I mean.. hello? It's Holland. And soccer. If they were dropped because of the gayness, coach would probably have to kick off half of the team (and resign herself).

I actually feel these rumors are pretty offensive. Not everything in this world is about homophobism.

If the coach was homophobic she would immediately be fired, no question about it. Holland really doesn't tolerate public homophobia.

It is not in our best interest to pull out the "homphobia" card at every turn because this is clearly not a case of homophobia in the least.  If I were the coach of a unisex team, and two straight players were dating, I would have booted them off the team, and I applaud the coach for adhering to what is probably, if not a written team rule, an unspoken one.  It is not clearly not conducive to team chemistry, and/or performance, when teammates date each other.

In US professional sports, cheerleaders are not allowed to date athletes for the same reasons.  If discovered, the cheerleader is fired ---for obvious reasons the athlete goes unpunished (if she is lucky, she marries the athlete -- see Chris Cooley of the Washington Redskins).  I think it is very telling that the two players in question have refused to discuss the issue because they know, or should know by now,  that their behavior was detrimental to their team.

Jammyn 

Ouch.

Well, Dyanne and Claudia, you can both come play with us!

True, this does not seem to be a 'clear cut' case... but it often isn't. It's easy enough to hide homephobic actions behind other 'reasons'.  This also does not allow the women to act like the professional athletes they are and get on with the business of playing football and leave any personal problems at home.

Danielle Warby

Having read the articles, I am convinced this has nothing to do with homophobia. The newspaper in question has been going down the drain in regards their trustworthiness and grasp of reality for a long time, having joined the likes of 'de Telegraaf' in the Dutch equivalent of the tabloid-sphere. Probably not as bad as the British ones, but embarrasingly sensationalist all the same.