Former Inter midfielder was suspended indefinitely from Antwerp
By Maria Mark
Radja Nainggolan, a former Inter midfielder, could leave Antwerp early.
After the 34-year-old midfielder was caught on camera smoking on the bench before his team’s 3-0 loss to Standard Liege, the Belgian club suspended him “indefinitely.”
The midfielder was found vaping, so Antwerp released a statement saying, “We had a chat with him about some circumstances and we have decided to dismiss him from the team permanently for behavior that presents a negative image of the team.
After spending the previous campaign on loan from Inter at Cagliari, Nainggolan left Serie A this summer and signed a two-year deal with the Belgian team.
The midfielder stated in an interview with France Football from the previous year that he was “a regular person, not a terrible boy,” and that he thought “footballers should be permitted to smoke.”
During Euro 2016, Belgium’s coach Marc Wilmots did not try to disguise it.
Radja does smoke, yes. In France and Italy, many people have a tendency of doing it. If that’s what he needs, I won’t stop him, he said to Sporza.be.
“When it comes to things like this, I am adaptable. His body is there. As long as he does well on the field, I’m cool with it. To prevent him from setting off the smoke alarm, I always make sure he has a room with a balcony. If we forbade him from smoking five or six cigarettes a day, I believe he would destroy his room. If he retires at 30 instead of 35, it’s his problem