New Zealand international midfielder Matt Garbett was suspended by his Dutch club for disciplinary reasons ahead of their latest match in the Eredivisie.
Garbett (22) and teammate Fredrik Oldrup Jensen were left out of NAC Breda’s squad to face NEC on Sunday (NZT).
NAC coach Carl Hoefkens was unwilling to go into details about the reason for the pair’s suspension.
“As far as I’m concerned, there is not that much going on, but I think it is important within the selection to keep a certain line,” he told television channel ESPN.
“It is mainly behaviour, not doing everything possible to help the team.”
The midfielder is about to join the New Zealand squad for their FIFA World Cup qualifier match against Tahiti in Vanuatu on Friday October 11, followed by the international friendly against Malaysia at North Harbour Stadium on Monday October 14.
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Despite the duo’s absence, NAC won the match 1-0 after being reduced to 10 players following the 69th-minute dismissal of Saná Fernandes.
The win leaves NAC in 12th place on the 18-team table, while NEC dropped to 16th spot.
Garbett played in six of NAC’s first seven league matches in the Eredivisie, after helping them win promotion to the top tier last season.
In May 2023, Garbett signed a two-year deal with Breda, and the club has an option to extend the contract for a third year.
He had initially been loaned to Breda by his parent club, Italy’s Torino.
Garbett grew up in Wellington and made his senior debut for Western Suburbs.
After spells with Eastern Suburbs and Team Wellington, he joined Swedish club Falkenbergs FF.
He signed for Torino after impressing at the Tokyo Olympics, and he became a key part of the All Whites line-up during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
He captained the Olywhites in games at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Result
Game played on Sunday October 6, 2024
NAC Breda 1 (Dominik Janošek 81′)
NEC 0
This story was first published on October 6, 2024.
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