Ruben van Bommel has faced intense criticism in the aftermath of his challenge on Ajax defender Aaron Bouwman, but former Ajax player Gregory van der Wiel has now spoken out in defence of the PSV winger.

Van Bommel was at the centre of a heated debate after PSV's 3-1 victory over Ajax. The tackle on Bouwman sparked furious reactions, with the PSV youngster subsequently requiring hospital checks. While Van Bommel apologised to Bouwman and acknowledged his responsibility, criticism of the 22-year-old continued in the days that followed.

Van der Wiel, who played alongside Van Bommel's father Mark for the Netherlands, believes the reaction has gone too far. After taking time to consider his view, the former Ajax defender highlighted some of the language directed at the PSV player.

“After the match, there was the post-match discussion,” Van der Wiel wrote. “‘Murder attempt.’ ‘Inheritance tax.’ ‘Absurd short circuit.’ ‘Professional help is necessary for Van Bommel.’”

He continued: “Ruben, according to some, should go to a psychologist. He should no longer be allowed to play as long as Bouwman is injured. And references to his father also came up again.”

Van der Wiel believes the incident can be condemned without turning it into a judgement of Van Bommel's character.

“And I have trouble with that. You can condemn that action without immediately pretending to know what kind of person someone is,” he said, as quoted by PSV Inside.

The former Ajax player pointed to Van Bommel's relatively limited experience and disciplinary record.

“Ruben is 22 years old. He is at the start of his career and so far has absolutely no reputation as a player who keeps doing this kind of thing.”

Van der Wiel noted that Van Bommel has played 124 professional matches without receiving a red card. He nevertheless believes the challenge deserved serious punishment.

“In my opinion, he commits to a duel, realizes too late that he shouldn't do this, and at that moment can't take it back. Dumb, inexperienced, and red.”

But Van der Wiel rejected the most extreme descriptions of the incident.

“But not immediately a ‘murder attempt’. And also no reason to start shouting about his character, his family or his mental health.”

He added: “At a certain point, for people you are no longer someone who made a mistake. You are that mistake. Everything you do afterwards is viewed through that image. And sometimes it's very difficult to get past that again.”

For Van der Wiel, the episode also underlines the responsibility of football analysts and commentators to distinguish between criticism of an action and judgement of the person behind it.

Away from the controversy, PSV captain Mauro Junior has received a major personal reward for his development. The versatile Brazilian has been called up by Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti for the upcoming friendly internationals against Australia and India.

Mauro has represented Brazil at the youth level but had never previously received a call-up to the senior Seleção squad.

The decision has impressed ESPN analyst Hans Kraay Junior, who highlighted the consistency of Mauro's career at PSV.

“That is really very impressive, you know. That you just keep working hard for ten years, get better all the time, never end up going off track. Then you get rewarded,” Kraay said on Voetbalpraat, as quoted by PSV Inside.

Mauro made his PSV senior debut in October 2017 and spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Heracles Almelo. He subsequently flourished under Roger Schmidt, who increasingly used him as a defender after initially seeing him as a midfielder. Mauro also became an option at right-back.

Mario Been was equally pleased to see a player from the Dutch league included in the Brazil squad.

“Nice too that there’s one from the Dutch competition among them. Those Brazilians, of course, play in all the big competitions,” Been said.

For Mauro, the call-up represents recognition for years of development and adaptability at PSV, while Van der Wiel's intervention has provided a measured defence of Van Bommel amid the ongoing fallout from the Ajax clash.