John Heitinga issued with seven-word warning by Boudewijn Zenden after dating his sister

John Heitinga, who is the brother-in-law of ex-Liverpool winger Boudewijn Zenden, will lead the Reds dugout against Newcastle United on Wednesday night, with Arne Slot serving a touchline suspension

Liverpool coach John Heitinga received a stark warning when he began dating the sister of ex-Reds winger Boudewijin Zenden.

Heitinga is set to lead the Liverpool dugout against Newcastle United on Wednesday night after manager Arne Slot received a two-game touchline ban following his actions during the recent dramatic Merseyside derby, that ended in a 2-2 draw. The Reds boss accepted the FA’s charge that he “acted in an improper manner and/or used insulting and/or abusive words and/or behaviour towards both the match referee and an assistant referee”.

The manager was fined £70,000 for confronting official Michael Oliver after the heated finale at Goodison Park. Slot’s assistant Sipke Hulshoff has also been suspended for two league games. It means that Heitinga will oversee the team as the club aim to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table.

The 41-year-old, who joined Liverpool’s coaching staff in the summer, had existing ties to Merseyside following his four-and-a-half-year spell with Everton in his playing days. Heitinga is also the brother-in-law of former Liverpool winger Zenden after he married his sister Charlotte-Sophie in 2010.

“I’m not sure whether many people in the UK know the link between John and myself… obviously everyone in Holland knows,” Zenden told Ladbrokes Fanzone.

“It’s funny how our careers went, when you look at our relationship today; I played for Liverpool, he went to Everton, he started off at Ajax, I started off at PSV.

“We did play together in the Euros in 2004, and that’s when my sister and him first met up, and they’ve been together ever since.”

Despite only briefly crossing paths at international level, with both being named in the Netherlands’ squad for Euro 2004, Zenden was happy for Heitinga and his sister to exchange numbers. However, the current Liverpool coach was given a stern warning by Zenden at the start of their relationship.

“How did it come about? I don’t remember whether he asked for my sister’s number or my sister asked for his number,” Zenden admitted. “I guess the only thing I really said to him was, ‘you’d better be good to my sister!’”

Zenden started his career at PSV and Barcelona before joining Chelsea in 2001. He spent a large portion of his career in England, with spells at Middlesbrough, Birmingham City, and Sunderland. The Dutch forward joined Liverpool in 2005, and though injuries impacted his time at Anfield, he did start in the 2007 Champions League final.

Heitinga will not only be in charge of Liverpool’s game tonight but their upcoming Premier League visit from bottom side Southampton next Saturday. Slot’s ban does not apply to European competition, meaning the manager will be back in the dugout for the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie away to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, March 5.

Before joining Liverpool’s coaching staff, Heitinga spent last season as one of David Moyes’ assistants at West Ham United. The former Everton defender began his coaching career as Jong Ajax manager in 2021. He took interim charge of the first term in January 2023, guiding the club to third in the Eredivisie and a penalty shootout defeat in the KNVB Cup final.

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