Ex-Premier League star spat at by El Hadji Diouf now puts criminals behind bars

Arjan de Zeeuw is a name that still resonates with Portsmouth fans from their Premier League heyday - but the former defender has now found a new career post-football - in law enforcement.

The ex-centre-back began his career in England with Barnsley and Wigan and then joined Portsmouth in 2002 under Harry Redknapp's management.

Known for his tough tackling, De Zeeuw was a formidable force on the pitch, often tasked with halting top strikers like Ruud van Nistelrooy and Thierry Henry.

It was as Pompey captain that he was involved in an infamous, and unsavoury, incident when Bolton's El Hadji-Diouf spat in his face at the then-Reebok Stadium in November 2004. Diouf was handed a three-match ban for his actions.

De Zeuw went on to say a few years later: "It has really been good for my image as a player considering I didn't react in a way everybody would expect. To this day he has never apologised. I was angry, really angry.

"The ball was somewhere else so I chased him initially to try to smack him. While I was doing that it occurred to me I shouldn't allow myself to be sent off by this fool. He was not going to get what he wanted."

In 2005, De Zeeuw left Portsmouth for a second spell at Wigan, later moving to Coventry and finally ADO'20 for the 2008-09 season. Upon retiring at 37, he felt uninspired by the typical path of becoming a football coach or manager.

Despite holding a medical degree, he abandoned plans to pursue medicine and instead followed his dream of climbing the ranks in the Dutch police force. Today, De Zeew relishes every moment of his unconventional post-football career.

"I still work with the Dutch police force, believe it not as an inspector, or detective as you call it," he divulged on three years ago.

De Zeeuw, who is now 54, shared that his love for football was so intense that he couldn't bear the thought of merely watching from the sidelines.

He added: "I realised that I loved playing football so much that I didn't not want to play it and be on the side of the pitch all the time.

"I realised I didn't want to be on the football pitch not playing football, so I thought no, I'm not going to do all the badges and go into management, I'm just going to get completely out of football altogether."

With a medical degree in hand, De Zeeuw initially considered becoming a doctor but was enticed by the opportunity to join the police force through a fast-track course.

He added: "Having a medical degree, my first idea was to become a doctor, but at the time the Dutch police were looking for people with higher education to do a fast-track course into the police force.

"It sounded a little bit like a boys' dream - being in fast cars and having a gun and all that stuff and I realised it was still going to take me a long time to become a doctor, whereas it was a much quicker route into the police force."

Reflecting on his transition to law enforcement after a 17-year career as a professional footballer, De Zeeuw feels that his new role has given him a fresh perspective on life.

He added: "I thought 'hang on', I'll just try it, just like I did with coming across to England [to play football]. I thought I'll just try it and see how it goes and I have to say, I really enjoy it.

"Being a footballer, obviously you have the good lifestyle and are a bit of a figure in the community because you play for the local team and all that. Being a policeman, you see the other side of society.

"It's interesting, I'll tell you that - and I do have a fast car and I do have a gun."