The KNVB took stricter action – the fans abused power

Also read the report of a shocking afternoon in Amsterdam: If one match comes to symbolize the existential crisis in which Ajax finds itself, it is this Classic

It symbolizes the crisis at Ajax – and the deep-rooted fan problems in the Netherlands.

The definitive suspension of the match is a direct consequence of an earlier match between Ajax and Feyenoord, in the Rotterdam Kuip, on April 5, 2023. At that time, the KNVB also wanted to take decisive action. A Feyenoord supporter injured Ajax midfielder Davy Klaassen that match with a lighter. It was one of the many incidents that marred the previous football season.

Time for measures, the KNVB thought. From now on, duels would be stopped more quickly, even immediately if a player or official were hit by an object. “These steps will hopefully ensure that potential perpetrators will no longer consider attacking the key players on the field,” said KNVB chairman Marianne van Leeuwen.

The measures were taken unilaterally by the KNVB. Clubs and supporter groups were hardly heard or heard in the hours after the incident in April. And although the KNVB relaxed the measures slightly last summer, what happened in the 24 hours after the incident with Klaassen still has an effect.

Because notice that word ‘hopefully’ in the KNVB’s statement at the time. That hope also contains fear. That supporters would seize the power that the KNVB unintentionally gave them. A tool of power that turned out to be unsurpassed: the supporters can stop a match at will.

They, it suddenly became clear, have that power. And they abuse it. At the end of last season, for example, when fireworks were thrown onto the field twice at FC Groningen – Ajax, as a premeditated plan to stop the match. Or at Willem II – NAC this season, where Willem II fans threw cups and fireworks on the field. Both matches were abandoned and later played without an audience.

It also happened this Sunday afternoon, at the ‘Klassieker’. When Ajax was humiliated at home by Feyenoord. When the frustrations about an apparently lost season, about purchases that did not pay off, about chaos in the board flared up. Then fans decided to throw fireworks. And again. And what those malicious fans know happens happened: the match was permanently stopped.

1What happened after the strike?

Part of the stadium turned against its own F-side. That section was already empty before the match was finally stopped after 55 minutes. Some of them went to the main entrance; management, guests and skybox visitors could not go outside. A revolving door was destroyed and some supporters forced their way inside.

Outside, the riot police used tear gas and horses to disperse the crowd. The police were pelted with stones. At the beginning of the evening, peace returned around the stadium. Police made three arrests and say more arrests could follow.

2What are the rules about striking now?

A match in the Eredivisie or First Division can be stopped if the safety of the players, referees and other parties involved cannot be guaranteed, for example if the field is entered or if objects are repeatedly thrown onto the field.

Unless the perpetrator can be immediately identified and removed from the stadium, as happened on Sunday after a cup landed on the field. After fireworks were thrown twice, it was decided that the situation was no longer safe enough.

The fact that it took a while before the match was finally stopped is because the mayor, as ultimately responsible for safety in the municipality, can still request the KNVB not to stop a match, for example if this could have major consequences for safety outside the stadium. Ultimately, the joint decision (KNVB, mayor, police and Public Prosecution Service) was: to strike.

After an abandoned match, the football association has a number of options: decide to determine the interim score as the final score; have the match played out, with or without an audience; to have the match replayed in its entirety. The latter option seems unlikely, “because you don’t want to reward bad behavior,” said a spokesperson for the association.

The Football Association will announce the decision on Monday.

3Do clubs have their fanatical fans under control?

Temporary Ajax director Jan van Halst appeared visibly shaken in front of the camera after the match. He “strongly” disapproved of the fans’ behavior, but also said he “hugely understood” the supporters’ “disappointment.”

It shows the difficult position of club boards in relation to their fanatical supporters – not only Ajax has problems with this. In this case, the fireworks flares were thrown from the ‘F-side’, a section with a fanatical following. The F-side and ‘VAK410’, another (former) ‘hard’ supporter group, have regularly caused Ajax problems, but the club still continued to discuss supporter matters with them.

Over the years, Ajax directors have regularly been threatened by fanatical supporters of the club. But simply opting for tough action against abuses (there have been issues surrounding criminals among the hard core and drug trafficking in the stands and in the supporters’ home) is often seen as unwisely escalating. In 2016, ‘VAK410’ was dismantled by the club – the fans had to sit in other sections – which made it seem relatively quiet for a long time.

They also have this problem at other clubs. For example, there were major problems at FC Groningen at the end of last season. It Dagblad van het Noorden wrote that hooligans would have the club in their grasp. Stewards would therefore not dare to intervene against certain supporters.

Since 2010, the Netherlands has had a kind of ‘football law’, which allows clubs and municipalities to better tackle nuisance causes, for example with stadium bans, area bans and a reporting obligation. In practice, this is difficult: many people with a stadium ban can, for example, still go to matches quite easily (on other people’s cards).

In the two seasons since the corona measures were abolished, many incidents have been registered with the KNVB. The association imposed 167 penalties in those two seasons due to incidents with fans, NOS reported at the beginning of August. In the two seasons before corona, this involved 29 penalties.

The KNVB therefore intervenes more often, and wanted to do even more after the incident in April with Davy Klaassen. That was a logical consequence of the violence in the stadiums. The big question: what options are left, now that the biggest match in the Netherlands has once again shown how easily fans can derail things?