Despite his ability, and reputation as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world at his peak, De Jong has also drawn criticism over his feisty, physical, and combative playing style, including from his former Dutch national team manager Van Marwijk. During an international friendly on 3 March 2010, De Jong fractured the leg of Bolton Wanderers' American international Stuart Holden as the result of a late challenge. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final he kicked Spanish player Xabi Alonso in the chest, a challenge for which De Jong admitted he was lucky not to have received a red card. On 3 October 2010, in a Premier League match against Newcastle United, a tackle by De Jong on Hatem Ben Arfa resulted in the latter being carried off the pitch with a double fracture of his left tibia and fibula. De Jong was later dropped from the Dutch national team by his coach Van Marwijk for an unspecified period of time, but was later reprieved. During his time at Manchester City, however, De Jong was never shown a red card. Indeed, despite his reputation as an aggressive and hard-tackling player, De Jong's first official direct card of his career came with Milan, in a 1–1 away draw against Verona in Serie A on 13 December 2015; previously, he had only been sent off once in an official game, namely for two bookable offences in a match for Hamburg against Rapid Bucharest in the 2005–06 edition of the UEFA Cup, while his only direct red card had come against Werder Bremen, in the semi-finals of the 2006 DFL-Ligapokal. In April 2016 while playing for the LA Galaxy De Jong was involved in another controversial incident when a strong takedown led to Portland Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe being removed from the field with an injury. The tackle led to a 3-game suspension for De Jong after the disciplinary committee determined the action to have been, “a clear and unequivocal red card.”
Mesaad Al-Hamad
