Hans Witsel

Central Defender - Mouscron
1 Oct 2026
Thursday
Process

Marked for Hans Witsel

9 Edition

The Mouscron Gazette

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Every point is an argument now for Mouscron

Position 15 and 7 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.

Squad

Charles Lukaku in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Thorgan Onana falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Match

Westerlo take the points off Mouscron

Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Player ratings

Youri Lukaku runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Hans Witsel

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

Back issues
7 Edition

The Mouscron Gazette

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Chastening afternoon for Mouscron

A 0‑5 beating by Club Brugge was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Match

No end in sight to Mouscron's wait for a win

7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Mouscron has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Thorgan Onana falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

Hans Witsel in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Ibe Hautekiet gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Mouscron

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

Loan watch

Michy Kompany counts the days

“I watch every Mouscron game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at OH Leuven runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

Squad

A long afternoon for Thorgan Onana

Beaten 5 times, with 4 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.

Market

The Youri Januzaj story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Youri Januzaj signs something — a contract at Mouscron or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief