Michiel Kramer questions Feyenoord fine as he discusses dressing-room snus use

Former Feyenoord striker Michiel Kramer has looked back on the €1,000 fine he received after eating a croquette sandwich during a match, contrasting the punishment with what he described as widespread snus use among professional footballers.

The incident occurred on 21 December 2017, when television cameras caught the substitute eating at half-time of Feyenoord’s KNVB Cup meeting with Heracles Almelo. Kramer told Vandaag Inside that sandwiches had routinely been laid out at home matches and that he knew food was available while he was talking with others in the equipment room.

Then-technical director Martin van Geel subsequently fined Kramer €1,000. The former forward said he initially claimed that he had been eating a grilled-sausage sandwich, before being summoned to the club’s offices the following morning. Kramer, who has since retired, remains surprised by the size of the sanction.

He argued that using snus — a small nicotine or tobacco pouch placed beneath the upper lip — was more harmful but tolerated within professional football. Kramer claimed everyone in Feyenoord’s dressing room used it at the time and suggested the practice remains common. “They all do it,” he said, as quoted by Voetbalzone, adding that players use the product because it makes them feel calm.