Dutch Footballer Sacked For Throwing Ajax Sickie

When a friend handed Jordie van der Laan a ticket for the first leg of Ajax's Uefa Champions League semi-final against Spurs last week, the temptation was too great.

Van der Laan, a 25-year-old striker with second-tier club Telstar, decided to travel to London.

"I just called in sick and of course it wasn't the best decision. In the end someone found out," he told the BBC.

The club decided to terminate his contract by mutual consent.

"He tricked us," complained technical director Piet Buter.

"In all he was away from the club for four days. At our request to go to the club doctor he reacted by saying he had an appointment with his GP," he told a local paper. "The next day his excuse was that he was in bed with a fever."

Van der Laan was not the only Ajax fan who failed to show up to work last week. A Dutch reporter was slapped by a supporter outside the Spurs ground, apparently because he was angry that fans who had called in sick were being filmed.