Guus Hiddink has slammed the ‘shameless’ Netherlands fans who booed Andres Iniesta during Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over Spain.
The Barcelona midfielder appeared for the final half-hour at Amsterdam ArenA but was welcomed to a chorus of jeers from home supporters, who arguably wanted to exact revenge on his winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final.
“At first I hadn’t noticed [the boos], but suddenly I felt [some fans] were booing Iniesta and it disgusted me,” the Oranje boss said after the game.
“Those who [booed Iniesta] have no shame because they booed a great person, a great athlete and a great player, in that order.
“Anyone who thinks he stole the World Cup from Netherlands is petty-minded.
“Spain beat us [in the final] with a goal from Iniesta, who fulfilled an obligation [for his country], as did [Robin] van Persie and [Arjen] Robben in Brazil.
“I don’t agree with these boos, neither do I understand nor approve of them.
“Any match is serious but we’ve built a great rivalry and competition with Spain, and I hope it’ll prove beneficial for both teams.
“We happened to win the game because we stunned them with two quick-fire goals.
“In the second half, precisely because of Iniesta, they dominated [possession] and showed us that we still had room for improvement.
“I greeted [Vicente] del Bosque because we’ve been friends for many years and were colleagues at Real Madrid. I’m happy for his successes as a Coach.”
