Heavy fireworks, breaking through stadium fences and beleaguered stewards: a year ago AZ-NEC was shut down because of an explosion of violence by hooligans. Yesterday, a dozen, between the ages of 18 and 24, heard demands for community service and a stadium ban, some in the presence of their parents. “When I saw the images, my mother’s heart cried.”
Suspects from Alkmaar, Heiloo, Egmond aan den Hoef, Heerhugowaard and Limmen look at the images on the screen in court at the same time. It is the first time for all of them to be tried. They have a job or are still studying. ‘Alkmaar, hooligans’ sounds through the speakers.
Thanks to the bodycams of police officers, cameras outside the stadium and the film crew of the NOS who was inside, we can watch the events of November 20 last year. About 150 hooligans with hoodies, masks and scarves walk towards the stadium, which is closed to supporters due to corona.
The group wants to make ‘a statement’ and according to the prosecutor, a large part is guilty of assault and trespassing that evening. Thanks to images, testimonials, but also from a Whatsapp group called Alkmaar Locals 2018, the prosecutor said he was able to recognize fourteen of those rioters. Ten occurred yesterday, four Monday.
According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), in the days before the stadium storm, suspects text back and forth in the group about riots and heavy fireworks:
Everything to the cancer, what time to the stadium?
We should actually hang up a few canvases, aimed at The Hague
Who wants fireworks?
*someone sends tikkie*
*someone sends pictures of the fence*
With some good kicks you can get him loose
Bringing concrete shears?
Do you have a bivouac for me?
On the conscious Saturday of the AZ-NEC match, the group of AZ fans is first at the regular supporters pub at the Scharloo. Most of the suspects are also spotted there on camera images. Two others first go to the Waagplein for a Tinder date. According to the Public Prosecution Service, someone in the group app at a certain point sends: We go.
In a procession they go to the stadium, set off a lot of fireworks and also throw them at police officers and stewards. In the 14th minute a group of hooligans managed to enter the stadium through entrance C. Some even walk over the boarding onto the field, arms outstretched, shouting slogans. The match is stopped.
(Text continues below the images)
The presiding judge looks at the group of young men after showing the video. “And? What did you think?” Nobody says anything. “It is said that you are an AZ supporter, but you also see players in the images. It does not seem that they appreciate this. I just wanted to say that.”
According to the public prosecutor, the riots have had a major impact on the police and stewards to this day: they were pelted with fireworks, pushed hard and one threatened with eetoday you are mine and i know you too find.
“It was like a war zone. I’ve never seen anything like this in 42 years with the police. If the group had turned against us, maybe there would have been shots,” said a police officer.
After the riots, according to the Public Prosecution Service, the Whatsapp group Alkmaar Locals 2018 said the following:
How cancerous is that, we were in the stadium
I was just on the field
*Someone sends pictures of the images on television*
I support hahahaha
Do you have the video of me standing in the stands with bivouac?
Gancient action
A number of suspects deny having been present during the riots. Others say they have been to the stadium, but not in it. Weather others say they only entered when it was actually finished. One says ‘right to remain silent’.
After the action, the KNVB already imposed a stadium ban of five years or more on most, but according to the public prosecutor, that is not enough. “Society was under tension during that period and these men gathered at the cafe with a purpose, deliberately sought confrontation and went along in an attack wave.”
He also mentions that things went wrong more often that season with AZ supporters and a 20-year-old supporter was recently convicted for setting off a bomb.
Jail for ignoring stadium ban
The requirement: a criminal stadium ban of five years (if they do not comply with this, they will have to go to jail for two weeks), a suspended prison sentence of three months and a community order of 240 hours. In addition, compensation for the declarants and AZ.
When their lawyer starts arguing, the suspects’ heads turn to the right. Joost Kleiman believes that his clients’ telephones have been illegally read and copied, including private conversations and photos of family and friends.
“They really learned from this and it won’t happen again”
“That’s a serious invasion of their privacy.” According to him, the testimonies of the stewards and agents also do not always rhyme. He wants acquittal. “And I think it’s a nice, fun group of guys. I also think they’ve all been open about what they did and didn’t do here. They really learned from this and it won’t happen again.”
‘Conversations with son’
The parents of two suspects were also able to see for the first time what happened that evening of 20 November from the stands of the courtroom. “I find it shameful, my son is not suspected of sweaty feet. And it also touched me to see how those stewards, despite everything, remained so firm,” says a mother.
“This is even higher than what Glennis Grace got yesterday”
“I myself have a completely different idea of football supporters. And I also have conversations about that with my son at home. I will never understand this.” A father of another suspect is surprised about the sentence. “This is even higher than what Glennis Grace got yesterday.”
Both think it would have been better if the trial had been closer to the incident. “This needs to be addressed more quickly, because it go just keep going, you see it at all football clubs.”
On Monday, four more suspects will appear before the police judge, three from Alkmaar, one from Leeuwarden. The judgment will therefore follow after those cases.