The KNVB will investigate violent incidents that took place on Saturday during and after the match between amateur clubs Kozak Boys and Spakenburg in Werkendam, at the highest amateur level in the Netherlands. The Football Association confirmed this on Sunday NRC. Spakenburg striker Ahmed El Azzouti says that he and his family were attacked by supporters of the home club after the match and that he was racially abused during the match. writes RTV Utrecht.
It started during the match, says 35-year-old El Azzouti. “Things were continuously shouted such as ‘cancer Muslim’, ‘cancer Moroccan’ and ‘azc get rid of it’.” The striker helped his club with two goals to a 2-1 victory over Kozak Boys, his old club. The racist insults affected him, he tells RTV Utrecht. “I also got angry at one point. When I scored 2-1, I also raised a fist in the air after I had been verbally abused, that was my revenge.”
After the match, some of the Kozak Boys supporters reportedly sought out the Spakenburg team bus and attacked it. El Azzouti and his family were walked to the parking lot with a detour and accompanied by his fellow players. When the home fans realized this, someone threw a smoke bomb at him. During the brawl that followed, El Azzouti saw his brother and brother receive blows, he says. The Kozak Boys players are said to have protected him from the fans. Ultimately, the Spakenburg players bus drove to the highway under police escort and staff members drove the cars of El Azzouti’s family home because they did not dare to do so themselves.
The board of Kozak Boys writes in a statement to “tremendously” regret that “the fire broke out” in the parking lot. It is still too early to draw conclusions, the statement said. “First we as a board must bring all the stories together and, in combination with the camera images, form a complete picture. We will provide an additional response at a later time.”
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