Ronald de Boer Hits Out at 'Ridiculous' Decision to Sack His Brother From Crystal Palace

Frank de Boer's twin brother, Ronald, has hit out at Crystal Palace's "ridiculous" decision to sack the Dutch coach after just four Premier League games.

The former Ajax boss attempted to introduce his own footballing philosophy at Selhurst Park, but was dismissed after just 77 days with his side rooted to the bottom of the table.

His brother has condemned the nature of what he deemed to be a premature sacking.

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"It hurts, definitely," he told BeIN Sport, quoted by the Croydon Advertiser. "He's a winner and he worked so hard at Crystal Palace to get it going. Finally, when he thought there was a light at the end of the tunnel he got sacked so that hurts even more.

"He has to stand up again. He's still hungry to coach another team, but for sure it was a knock down. We just started, that's why it's so ridiculous [to be sacked] after just four games. They played a good game against Burnley.

"You thought they'd begun to understand a little bit the philosophy, the way. It takes time.

"When you put someone in charge like my brother, you have to speak to him before. Have you thought about his ideas? How, after four games can you not believe in him anymore? That's strange.

"That's football nowadays. Too much pressure, too much money, it makes people make strange choices."

Since De Boer's departure, Palace have lost a further three games, as new coach Roy Hodgson has been unable to inspire them to their first point (or goal) of the season.