Max Kruse Fined for Leaving His Winnings in a Cab
8 years ago
16 Mar
Itâs difficult to imagine anything worse than scooping âŹ75K at poker â and then losing it almost immediately â something worse did happened to German soccer forward Max Kruse. Not only did he lose his hefty pile of winnings, but his club fined him a further âŹ25K for the incident!
To make matters worse still, the loss wasnât even to a fellow player or at the roulette table, something which a gambler might be able to accept, but rather that the hapless striker left his winnings sitting in a taxi!
The Wolfsburg player had been celebrating his scoring a hat-trick of goals in his teamâs defeat of Hoffenheim, with a visit to the casino. His âŹ75,000 winnings (reportedly during a World Series of Poker Berlin tournament, although no such results show up for the German) had seemed to cap a perfect day late last October, but it wasnât destined to be his lucky night.
During the taxi ride home, the 27-year-old somehow lost his wallet containing the hefty wad of cash and, despite contacting police, the money has not been returned. His eveningâs entertainment has been described as a âwild night of gamblingâ in some reports, the winnings possibly coming from cash or gaming tables.
In a move designed to remind the player of his responsibilities as a professional footballer, VfL Wolfsburgâs sporting director Klaus Allofs fined the player âŹ25,000 stating:
We have explained to him what sort of behaviour we expect from our players,â adding that Kruse âmight be a private person as a footballer when you are in your bed. At any other point, you are also an employee of the club.â
Of the fine, Allofs said:
I can only hope that he has been taught a lesson and will change his behaviour."
This may have seemed to some as âputting the boot in when the player is downâ, but the poker-fanatic has previously had run-ins with authority during his football career, being left out of the German national squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after allegedly falling out with national team coach Jogi Low.
Kruse stated at the time that:
It is difficult to say in words what I feel right now, because it is difficult to put my disappointment into words. The pain is quite deep after a few hours of my dream bursting.â
This latest blow was announced over the weekend, one month after the police investigation â delayed by a few months if German newspaper, Das Bild, are to be believed â and has had a dramatic effect on Kruseâs performance on the football pitch. His high-scoring season to-date has ground to a halt with poor performances in his most recent Bundesliga games.
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