Iconic footballer's son accused of 'assassination attempt' after player hospitalised

 The son of a Champions League winner has been accused of an "assassination attempt" after sparking a melee with a brutal foul during a game in the Netherlands. Ruben van Bommel is following in the footsteps of his father, Mark, by carving out a professional football career for himself. He currently plays for PSV Eindhoven, the same club his legendary father spent many years at.

The younger Van Bommel lined up for PSV in this weekend's game against Ajax, which ended in a 3-1 defeat. He was responsible for sparking a wild brawl with a shocking challenge on Aaron Bouwman as they battled for a bouncing ball. Van Bommel clattered into his opposite number, seemingly making no attempt to play the ball in the process.

The younger Van Bommel lined up for PSV in this weekend's game against Ajax, which ended in a 3-1 defeat. He was responsible for sparking a wild brawl with a shocking challenge on Aaron Bouwman as they battled for a bouncing ball. Van Bommel clattered into his opposite number, seemingly making no attempt to play the ball in the process.

The incident sent Bouwman flying across the grass, leaving him in a crumpled heap and prompting a furious reaction from several Ajax players.

Van Bommel was grabbed and manhandled by a number of rivals as tensions boiled over while Bouwman writhed in agony on the ground.

Ajax goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was clearly worried as he rushed over and immediately signalled that his team-mate needed medical attention.

At the same time, almost every other Ajax player on the pitch made a beeline for Van Bommel, with a few substitutes sprinting off the bench to get involved in the melee.

The referee tried to position himself in the middle of the brawl in an attempt to calm things down, before the players eventually dispersed.

To the amazement of many fans inside the stadium, Van Bommel was only shown a yellow card, with VAR choosing not to intervene.

Ajax later issued a statement confirming that Bouwman had been hospitalised and would be sidelined for at least a month.

They said: "Aaron Bouwman will not be in action again during the month of September. Examinations showed that Bouwman suffered several injuries, including bruising to his sternum and a bruised lung. He remains in hospital on Sunday for observation."

Dutch analyst Hugo Borst was left incensed and suggested that Van Bommel was very fortunate to avoid being sent off, pointing out the similarities with his father's no-nonsense style of play.

Appearing on ESPN talk show De Eretribune, Borst said: "This was an assassination attempt. Ruben van Bommel is genetically tainted by Mark. This is a huge mistake by VAR. They should have intervened here. This is clearly red.

"I have already spoken with head of refereeing Raymond van Meenen. He will not try to dress this up. He agrees that this was a red card for Ruben van Bommel and a wrong decision."

A clearly agitated Borst went a step further by pleading with Van Bommel to seek psychological help as he continued his tirade against the young winger.

He added: "I'm someone who regularly visits a psychologist. I recommend that Van Bommel does the same. He completely loses himself. This is an absurd short circuit. He really needs to do something about it.

"This isn't normal. This kind of incident is already more on his record. It's starting to become a Van Bommel little thing."