Controversies

Unfortunately, the professional Krabbal scene has been plagued by controversies and scandals. Critics of the sport ascribe their frequent occurrence to the immense success and popularity gained by Krabbal players, which often surpasses those of football stars. This superstar-like status did cause problems in the past and resulted in extremely high tensions between opposing teams. The Chinese and Retard teams have been known to publicly dehumanise their opponents.

A few notable incidents are summarised here:

In 2015 -during the course of the first-ever Krabbal championship- Retard topscorer Jean put live fireworks in his mouth, resulting in severe burns in his face. Notwithstanding the horrible mutilations, Jean was present in center-position the following morning. However, despite the everlasting support from his team, Jean never fully recovered mentally from this accident.

Also in 2015, at a party, center-back player Freddy accidentally ripped apart a friendship-bracelet given by Jean. Freddy and rising-star Jacques frantically tried to find back all beads that fell to the floor while surrounded by masses of fans that were so enthralled to find their idols so close to them. The loss of the bracelet did create some tension between Freddy and Jean for the remainder of the championship, which resulted in a few sets lost to the Chinese. Freddy did make up for it by offering friendship bracelets to all team members after they won the championship cup.

In 2016, Jean and Jacques swam naked in the harbour of Cherso, attempting to explore a lost lighthouse. Jacques was inadvertently stabbed in the foot by a sea urchin who was defending the lighthouse. This whole ordeal brought the whole championship in danger and could mean team Retard would not go home with the 3rd consecutive World cup. On top of that, Jacques could die from an anaphylactic shock. Luckily for the team, coach Bobje had honed his surgical skills and assisted Jacques in removing the needles that were imbedded in his foot. Nevertheless, team Retard had to do without one of their most promising players during crucial moments. Even though the Chinese smelled victory, they forgot one crucial thing. Team Retard had been relentlessly training a new recruit. Runner-up Ismael did jump in and helped secure an unexpected victory by showing off some moves never seen before. This loss costed the Chinese dearly, with many disappointed fans switching sides. However, this multinational fanbase did create future problems.

In 2017, left wing player Juin -coincidentally the twin brother of Jean- slung some racial slurs towards a few unknown black men after the second day of the world championship organised in Mallorca, Spain. Unknowing of what harm he drunkenly had caused, Juin was staring in the void right in front of him, which he usually does when his brain does not function. Jacques -who was now known as the hero of Gümbet for his unbelievable feat in securing the world cup in 2015 with only a few seconds left on the clock- scrambled to resolve the situation. Unfortunately for him, his drunken explanation only made things worse. This resulted in bystander Jean being kicked off a 2 meter cliff and Jacques, receiving the brunt of the angered mob, being punched to a pulp while trying to remain standing. Jacques suffered major trauma to his upper lip that almost meant the end of his championship and potentially his Krabbal career. Due to his resilience, Jacques managed to get to strength just in time for the quarter-finals. His comically swollen lip did earn him the nickname the duck. On a positive note, Jacques was approached by Flügel for their next modelling campaign, which made him even more popular and rich.

Also in 2017, when driving a scooter Bobje was almost crushed and killed by a bus that was ‘going as fast as an F16’, according to Jacques, who never exaggerates any statements he makes. In fact, Bobje was so bold that he thought he could handle a bus with his scooter. Luckily Bobje lived to see another day and guided his team to victory.