By ESPN staff
Bayern Munich offered an apology to Arjen Robben, after the Dutchman was booed by the home support as Bayern took on the Netherlands at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night.
Robben, 28, turned out for Holland in the friendly, much to the annoyance of a large section of the Bayern crowd - with many still annoyed following Bayern's Champions League final defeat.
Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, though, believes that the booing originated from only a minority of the home crowd and told reporters that Robben has received many apologies from the club's fans.
"Some fans were clearly disappointed that Arjen Robben was playing in the Holland team and not in a Bayern Munich shirt just three days after the lost Champions League final. This, however, does not give anybody the right to boo one of our players," Rummenigge said.
"Arjen Robben is, like all of the players, fans and friends of Bayern Munich, disappointed and deeply hurt by the unlucky and undeserved defeat in a penalty shoot-out in the Champions League final against Chelsea. But the style of FC Bayern and our fans is to reach out and help those who are lying on the ground, like the majority of the 33,000 fans did by chanting Arjen Robben's name. We have received lots of reaction from our fans today, who want to apologise to Arjen Robben on behalf of those who whistled.''
Holland captain Mark van Bommel urged Robben to reconsider his Bayern future post-match, despite his colleague having recently signed a contract extension at the German side.< /p>
"It's absolutely outrageous how the fans treated Arjen Robben. You only have to look at what he has accomplished there. He scored a penalty against Real Madrid in the (Champions League) semi-finals. People seem to have forgotten that. They should be pleased to have such a player,'' Van Bommel told Voetbal International.
"A large part of the German crowd booed their own player. That cannot happen. If I was Arjen, I would start thinking about whether I still want to play football there, even if my contract has just been renewed. Arjen is very strong mentally, and comes back stronger each time after every setback. I don't know what Arjen is going to do but this is a disgrace.''
Holland coach Bert van Marwijk also said he would understand if Robben wants to leave Bayern following the incident.
"It is a disgrace the way they treated Arjen. I can understand when a player considers whether he should leave or not in such a situation. That is not funny anymore, that is serious,'' Van Marwijk added.
The game had been arranged as a means of compensating Bayern after Robben had returned from the 2010 World Cup injured.
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