One time a cup on the field means stop, another cup on the field means a strike. The new rules of the KNVB about objects on the field are clear, but the match between FC Utrecht and RKC Waalwijk was played on Saturday evening. So the rules are not sacred, that’s the thing.
It was mayor Sharon Dijksma of Utrecht who decided that the game should be played on Saturday evening. After cup number two on the field, referee Ingmar Oostrum stopped the game initially, but later the clock just kept ticking.
“Our rules are clear: this should have been stopped definitively, despite the fact that there were only two minutes left to play,” the football association said on Saturday evening. “But the mayor can overrule this for reasons of her own and she has done that.”
Tensions in and around the stadium
The mayor wanted the game to be played out for safety reasons. A spokesman for the mayor reports that ending the match early could lead to tensions in and around the stadium.
The decisive factor for the mayor was that there was only two minutes of playing time left on the clock.
The two spectators who threw plastic cups on the field are known and will receive a stadium ban, the spokesperson adds.
Referee is not involved
Referee Oostrum was not really bothered, he told ESPN on camera: “It’s pretty clear. I get instructions. There is only a small role for me.”
“According to the protocol, a match is stopped, but other interests are also involved, such as public order,” Oostrom explained.
“After the first time, we are already discussing what we will do if things go wrong again. When that happened, the safety coordinator contacted the mayor. She makes the decision.”
No more football
Although the remaining two minutes were played, football was no longer played in the Galgenwaard stadium.
Captains Nick Viergever (FC Utrecht) and Michiel Kramer (RKC Waalwijk) agreed that both teams, as a statement to the cup throwers, would no longer really play football.
The ball went to keeper Etienne Vaessen of RKC after the kick-off and he kept the ball with him for the remaining time. When the injury time was completely over, Oostrom collected the ball from the goalkeeper and whistled for the end of the game.
The game ended in a 2-0 for the home team.
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