FC Groningen did not intervene on Sunday for fear of escalation after the unrest in the stands. The home match against Ajax was stopped after about 10 minutes because smoke bombs had been thrown on the field.
A masked supporter also ran onto the field with a banner in his hands with a text addressed to the management of Groningen.
“The choice in this case not to intervene in the section in the stands where the unrest originated has to do with safety considerations that have to be made,” said the number 17 of the Eredivisie in a statement on the website.
“The chance of an escalation in intervention was enormous, resulting in a possible mass brawl. The assessment was that in that case there would certainly be injuries and the images and memories, especially for children, would have been more traumatic than is currently the case. No supporters were injured and in this case, in consultation with the chain partners, the conscious choice was made to eventually allow the public to leave the stadium in a safe and organized manner.”
‘Terrible Afternoon’
FC Groningen looks back on a “terrible afternoon in Euroborg”. ”Especially the images of the crying children made a deep impression. Visiting a football match in the stadium should just be fun,” says general manager Wouter Gudde.
”In our view, we have done as much as possible at the front together with our chain partners (mayor and police) to prevent incidents such as yesterday afternoon. We must conclude that the problems are so great that we cannot solve them alone. We are dealing with the willful undermining of rules and authority. Deliberately damaging the club. We need everyone’s help to solve the problem.”
The club from the north said it received numerous questions about the events on Monday. These included precautions. “Strengthening nets, for example, is not easy to realize with the current logistics of the stadium. The road to the field is an escape route in case of calamities. This escape route cannot and may not be blocked for safety reasons. Searches at the entrances are done according to the guidelines set out in the issued permit,” the club rejected the criticism.
FC Groningen says it is still thinking about a concession towards supporters and sponsors. The game will be played on Tuesday afternoon in an empty stadium.