A cleverly photoshopped jersey leaves no doubt as to Gino Coutinho’s sponsors. The ADO Den Haag goalkeeper is facing charges of owning a cannabis farm and additionally for money laundering and forgery. Under Netherland’s liberal drug laws, if found guilty, Coutinho faces upto a year in jail. Which would make a certain Nelson Rockefeller very, very unhappy.
This is not the first time, Coutinho has been in trouble. In 2009, police raided a warehouse in a Dutch village and found 4200 cannabis plants. Coutinho and his girlfriend were on the premises and were arrested. He maintained his innocence even after the warehouse was discovered to be registered in his name. This was a family joint venture as his father too served time recently for the same racket.
ADO Den Haag has been doing well this season currently lying 5th in the Eredivisie and their upcoming encounter with FC Twente has great import on a tightly clustered race at the top. Coutinho has been their number one goalie. With him gone, who’s going to “pass the dutchie”?