The 60-year-old vice president of a country — who happens to have 50 children — has broken records with the team he owns.
The vice president of Central American country Suriname has broken records by selecting himself to play in a champions league match for the team he owns.
The story of 60-year-old wanted man Ronnie Brunswijk’s is too bonkers to even attempt to put into words.
Here are just some of the man’s credentials:
— He is a father to 50 children
— He is the owner of football club Inter Moengotapoe, which plays home games in a stadium he has named after himself
— He is a former rebel leader and army sergeant during the overthrowing of the Surinamese government in a 1980 military coup.
— He is a wealthy businessman and politician, having helped now-president Chan Santokhi assume power after the two had previously hunted each other on opposite sides of the civil war
— He is a former bank robber and gold baron, according to The New York Times
— Referred to in some parts of the country as a Robin Hood-like figure for giving generously to his poor supporters, including stories of him throwing money down from a helicopter floating above a crowd of supporters; and
— He is unable to leave the country because he is wanted by Interpol after being found
guilty in absentia of drug trafficking and was sentenced to eight years in prison by a court in the Netherlands, Suriname’s former colonial ruler. He has also been sentenced to serve a 10-year sentence in France after being found guilty of the same charges.
His dramatic life is back in the headlines after a viral video emerged on Wednesday of the stocky specimen selecting himself to play 54 minutes during his team’s major international game against Honduran team Olimpia.
The sight of the mobility-compromised owner trying to run around in an elite-level competition has attracted snickering from all corners of cyberspace.
His record for being the eldest player to ever feature in an international match in the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) level has now triggered an investigation by the governing body.
As reported by AFP, Concacaf has opened a disciplinary investigation after Brunswijk picked himself in the starting line-up.
In case you were wondering, the decision to select himself blew up in his face, not that he really seems to care.
Here are a few more facts to note about Brunswijk’s big appearance:
— The team lost 6-0
— He named himself captain
— He had purchased the team when his son, Damian Brunswijk joined the team
— The father-son combo played 29 minutes together
— He had no previous professional football experience
— He is unable to play the second leg of the champions league match in Honduras because he is a wanted man — and Honduras has an extradition treaty with France and the Netherlands
— He wore the No. 61 jersey to celebrate the year he was born; and
— He entered the Olimpia dressing room after the game and handed out $100 notes to the players of the team that had just thrashed his own.
The moment he handed out bank notes to opposition players was captured in a second video which is also going viral
It has triggered a swift response from the international governing body.
“We are extremely concerned at the content of a video circulating on social media which raises potential integrity issues surrounding the Concacaf League match between Inter Moengotapoe and CD Olimpia,” Concacaf, said in a statement.
“The matter is being referred to the Concacaf Disciplinary Committee who will commence a formal investigation and a further update will be provided when that process has concluded.”
Today Brunswijk is a wealthy businessman as well as a politician, but in 1999 he was found guilty in absentia of drug trafficking and sentenced to eight years in prison by a court in the Netherlands, Suriname’s former colonial ruler.
A French court found him guilty for the same crime and in 2000 sentenced him to 10 years prison.
Brunswijk however is safe at home, as Suriname does not extradite its citizens. First elected to parliament in 2005, Brunswijk formed an alliance with the head of the main political opposition, former justice minister Chandrikapersad Santokhi.
Brunswijk will not join in his team’s second leg game in Honduras, since he cannot leave the country without risk of facing legal trouble.
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