Jakarta – Patrick Kluivert, a potential candidate to become the next coach of Indonesia’s national football team, carries a notable reputation as a football legend. However, his illustrious career is shadowed by a dark past.
Rather than delving into Kluivert’s personal scandals, this article focuses on incidents involving him and automobiles, such as drunk driving and a fatal car accident.
According to The Herald and News24 (Tuesday, 7 February), Kluivert was once stopped by police while driving in Madrid, Spain, in December 2001. At the time, he was still playing for Barcelona and was found to be intoxicated after consuming high-alcohol beverages.
Kluivert was detained by the police at 3:00 a.m. following a Champions League match against Turkey’s Galatasaray. As a result, he lost his driving license and was fined approximately $500, equivalent to IDR 8-9 million.
A Tragic Incident in 1995
Years earlier, in 1995, a 19-year-old Kluivert, who was then playing for Ajax, was involved in a more severe incident. He was accused of causing the death of a 56-year-old man in a fatal car accident.
Reports suggest that Kluivert was driving a BMW M3 sports car at 104 km/h in a residential area with a speed limit of 50 km/h. His car collided with a Ford Orion sedan, leading to the driver’s death.
The court proceedings regarding this incident stretched over multiple sessions. Kluivert denied accusations of reckless driving leading to the victim’s death but was still found guilty and sentenced to 240 hours of community service.
It was later revealed that the victim, Martin Putnam, was a theater director and an Ajax supporter. The sentence also included restrictions on Kluivert’s travel to the United States, requiring special documentation when Barcelona had preseason matches there in 2003.
