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The match between Ajax and FC Groningen in the Johan Cruijff Arena was stopped on Sunday evening because spectators had set off fireworks twice. They did this to commemorate a deceased supporter. The match will be played without an audience next Tuesday at 2:30 PM.
The match was just five minutes into the game when members of the F-side, Ajax’s hard core of supporters, lit a huge amount of flares. This created a large cloud of smoke and many fireworks also landed on the field.
Referee Bas Nijhuis escorted both teams back to the changing rooms, after which the game stopped for more than 40 minutes. Once the smoke had cleared, a warning was given via the stadium speaker that the match would be permanently stopped if fireworks were set off again.
Striking flute concerto
However, within ten seconds after Nijhuis had kicked off again, things went wrong again. Several people lit torches in the stands, after which the teams could enter the locker room again. Meanwhile, a piercing whistle concert sounded from the other stands towards the F-side.
Referee Nijhuis was also not happy with the situation. “I can no longer guarantee the safety of the players,” he said in an interview with sports channel ESPN. “This kind of behavior is unacceptable, is it? I don’t want it on my conscience that I am endangering the safety of the players.”
Nijhuis added that he hoped “that they will dare to tackle these figures really hard.” “This is just crazy.”
Unacceptable
In a statement, Ajax wrote that it found it “downright scandalous” what happened in the stadium. “The safety of spectators and players has been endangered. That is unacceptable. We emphatically distance ourselves from this misconduct. Fireworks do not belong in the stadium.”
According to the Amsterdam football club, the spectators in the stands where the fireworks were set off had been searched in advance. “Dogs have also been used to detect fireworks, both in the stadium before it opened and when the spectators entered. In addition, other preventive measures have been taken. Nevertheless, we have not been able to prevent this situation.”
The club says it will “of course” try to track down the perpetrators via camera images. “If this leads to the identification of perpetrators, we will take appropriate measures.”
Deceased supporter
From messages on social media it can be concluded that the fireworks were set off in commemoration of a supporter who died earlier this month. On November 1, members of the F-side also set off fireworks at Ajax-SC Heerenveen to commemorate another deceased supporter. Then the match stopped for fifteen minutes.
The canceled match is a new setback for the club, where there has been sporting malaise for weeks. Ajax has lost all of its last four matches: after a 0-3 defeat against Galatasaray in the Champions League, it lost successively to FC Utrecht (2-1), Excelsior Rotterdam (1-2) and Benfica (0-2). Ajax is currently sixth in the Eredivisie.
Ajax player Davy Klaasen reacts to the fireworks during the match between Ajax and FC Groningen.
Photo Olaf Kraak/ANP
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