Ajax's Sergino Dest leaves Qatar camp over USA-Iran tensions
Right-back flies back to Netherlands; 19-year-old plays for USA national team
Last Updated: 09/01/20 11:39am
Ajax defender Sergino Dest has left their winter training camp in Qatar as he does not feel safe due to the political tensions between USA and Iran.
Dest was born in the Netherlands but has an American father and has played three times for the USA.
The 19-year-old's decision follows a similar move by the USA national team to cancel a planned training camp in Qatar after Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad last week.
Dest has flown back to the Netherlands, where Ajax will resume their Eredivisie campaign at home to Sparta Rotterdam on January 19 after playing a series of friendlies while in the Gulf region.
Teams currently in the Gulf
- Rangers
- Celtic
- Aberdeen
- Bayern Munich
- Ajax
- PSV Eindhoven
- Real Madrid
- Barcelona
- Valencia
- Atletico Madrid
"Sergino did not feel comfortable," said Ajax.
A number of other clubs, including Celtic and Rangers, are also in the Middle East, with both Old Firm clubs currently planning on remaining in Dubai, where they are being guided by official advice from the Foreign Office.
