Story By: Juan Mayes, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golder’s News And Sport
An Argentine hockey fan asking for a player’s shirt during a match has been called a “fat troll” by his hockey star girlfriend adding that “it would have been better if a skinny Argentine girl” asked for it.
The incident occurred during the Netherlands’ International Hockey Federation (FIH) Pro League match against Argentina at the National Centre of High Performance Athletics (CeNARD) located in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires on Sunday 16th February.
Argentine hockey fan Carolina Pacheco went to the Netherlands’ 4-3 shoot-out win over Argentina. She took a sign that read: “Sander I want your shirt! #12” asking for Dutch star Sander de Wijn’s shirt as she is a fan.
After posting a picture of herself holding the sign on social media, Pacheco received a reply from de Wijn’s girlfriend Renee van Laarhoven, 22, who is also a Dutch international hockey star, insulting and laughing at her.
The reply read: “HAHAHA fat troll, it would have been better if a skinny Argentine girl had this.”
The response prompted Pacheco to forward the remarks which included screenshots of the original message along with its translation and her photo with the sign.
The hockey fan captioned it: “I went to watch the hockey match between Argentina and Holland, I just wanted the shirt of a Dutch player I admire.
“The girlfriend of the player responded like this. I never had bad intentions. I do not think it is correct to receive this aggression, it was not necessary. Never be a person like this.”
The Dutch Hockey Federation (KNHB) issued a statement after the incident saying: “The KNHB and our Dutch teams distant (sic) ourselves from this post.
“The teams love the atmosphere and all the Argentine fans and they are looking forward too (sic) many more matches in front of this thrilling crowd.”
Van Laarhoven also made a statement saying “I really would like to apologise for the message” going on to say it “was not meant the way it maybe looks” explaining that “it was an inside joke” and was intended to be a private message.
Picture Credit: Golders/@dewijn10 
Picture Credit: Golders/@dewijn10
Pacheco later said: “They contacted me apologising and offered me a shirt. I accepted the apology and the shirt.”
It is unclear if the KNHB intends to carry out any sanctions on van Laarhoven.
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