AZ wants to quickly put the incident in the stands against West Ham United in London behind. A spokesman says that enough has already been said about it and the club does not want to ‘inflate it further’. Family members and friends of AZ players, staff and business club members were attacked by English supporters during the incident. It is estimated that they had to leave the stands with several hundred, because the situation threatened to escalate.
The girlfriend and two children of AZ coach Pascal Jansen were also in the stands. He also responded to the incident after the game during the press conference: “There was a moment, right after our goal, when there was cheering and some consternation. But okay, don’t make it bigger than it is. Everyone is fine. We go on again.”
Sponsor Klaas Middelbeek was one of the AZ supporters who was in the field and who already responded against NH on Thursday evening. A day later, the situation has become a bit clearer to him: “From the UEFA regulations, the home club is obliged to make a number of places available to relatives and sponsors of the visiting club. This must be done on the long side between the two penalty areas. But that seems to have been at the expense of English supporters who normally have their place there.”
Cups of cola thrown
“They weren’t very happy with that,” continues Middelbeek. “So when we scored and there was cheering, the atmosphere became completely unfriendly. Cups of cola were thrown at our section. And it became verbally threatening. Then people from our section contacted the security people of the stadium and then their we were removed from the box shortly afterwards. It was no longer considered safe and we had no choice.”
The supporters were still allowed to go to the regular section for the away supporters, but many declined this and left the stadium. “From a few supporters who did do this, I understand that it all took a long time and that in the end they only saw five or ten minutes of the end of the game,” says Middelbeek.
Although as an AZ sponsor and supporter he calls the situation ‘deeply sad’ on Thursday evening, he does not let the incident ruin the entire trip. He looks further: “We always make it a few nice days at the European away games. It’s great to be in London and we’re also going into the city. It’s not like this incident has ruined everything , certainly not.”
West Ham United have not responded to our questions about the incident.
AZ played in London in the semi-final of the European Conference League against West Ham United on Thursday evening. The Alkmaarders took a 0-1 lead in the 41st minute, but eventually lost 2-1. Next week is the second game in Alkmaar and it will become clear which club will advance to the final.
Tip us!
💬 Send a Whatsapp message with a tip, photo or video to 06-30093003 (handy to save in your phone)!
📧 Contact the editors or journalists in your area via our tip form.
To stay informed?
🔔 Stay informed of news from your region, download the free NH News app via the AppStore or the Google Play Store.