Stewards are indispensable for playing professional football. Their role in the stadiums has become more important in recent years due to the reduced deployment of the police. It is no different at PSV. Omroep Brabant watched behind the scenes with head steward Remco and his colleague Olaf at the top match PSV against FC Twente.
In addition to the police, stewards also play an important role on match days. No fewer than 140 people work at this match. They are often fans of the club and they do this voluntarily, but that does not mean that it is a pleasant evening of watching football.
The match has only just started when Remco is already busy with his earpiece. He presses it tightly against his ear. It is immediately clear that something is wrong in the north stand, where Remco is positioned. This time not with fans, but an argument between two stewards. Remco rushes towards the box to calm the disagreement. It is only the beginning of a long evening, and this is certainly not the last incident where Remco has to intervene. “If you want a match to run smoothly, everyone has to be on the same page. Otherwise it will be very difficult.”
Omroep Brabant was given an exclusive look behind the scenes at the safety process of the professional football match PSV – FC Twente. PSV, the police, the municipality and the Public Prosecution Service opened its doors from start to finish for this purpose. We got a look at the control room, attended various meetings and accompanied an agent and steward on match day.
Calm before the storm
For Remco and his colleagues, the working day started long before the start of the competition. It is about three hours before the match when Remco and Olaf both arrive at the Philips Stadium. When they enter, like all their colleagues, they wear a black uniform with ‘chief steward’ written on it in white letters. “Good afternoon,” they both shout to some acquaintances before they enter the steward’s home. Upon entering you are overcome by a strong coffee smell. There are a lot of wooden tables in the room with chairs next to them in the colors of PSV. Remco and Olaf receive a walkie-talkie and earphones.
Stewards Remco and Olaf take us through HOW..? into the stands
Waiting for privacy settings…
Remco started as a steward 31 years ago out of love for the club. “I have always had a season ticket at PSV. When I saw in 1993 that they were looking for stewards for the new ring in the east stand, I was sold. I was eventually accepted and never really left.” He followed the club at a young age. “With my student public transport card. Now I still go to the away games, but with a slightly different role,” he laughs.
Suspicious objects
After everyone has laid a floor, a briefing is planned. Each steward is assigned to a stand, each with its own head steward. Olaf is in charge of the mostly pleasant south stand, where a large group has gathered. “Welcome,” he opens the briefing. “I’ll start with a short statement: we need to be more alert to people who smoke. This stadium is smoke-free and it results in fines for the club.”
After the introduction, the stewards head towards the stands. They all take care of a row. “Come on, boys,” calls Olaf, who gives the starting signal. The stewards check every seat. “This is necessary to ensure that all supporters end up in a clean and safe environment. If one of the stewards sees something unusual, they will report it to me.”
Difficult conversation
“Section C, seat number 27. This seat is missing a number,” one of the stewards tells Olaf. “Check,” he responds, writing down the message. In the meantime, several head stewards have already made contact with the search department, where everyone is on alert. It’s an hour and a half before the games and the gates are about to open. There another task awaits the stewards. The supporters must be searched.
Remco is positioned on the north side of the Philips Stadium. “What we often encounter is fireworks. The moment we find something like that, we confiscate it. We then unfortunately have to refuse that person access to the stadium. It is not always an easy conversation, that is why we always make sure that we a well-substantiated story. Fortunately, there were no unusual incidents today.”
Drunk
Just as Remco wants to take his position in the north stand, he hears on his earpiece that something is going on in his stand. “I’ll be right there,” he says. He rushes towards the section where the incident is taking place. “There were two drunken guests,” Remco says upon returning. “I helped them up and kindly asked them to leave the stadium.” The police pick up this case outside the stadium.
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“It is the most varied stand in the stadium,” says Remco. “There are some honorary card holders, but also some of the old hard core. A nice mix of atmosphere creators and more passive spectators.”
Everything under control
The match has already been going on for ten minutes and despite the fact that PSV is behind against FC Twente, nothing is happening. “We have everything under control,” Remco confirms. Yet swear words and whistling are heard from his profession. “But that’s part of it,” Remco downplays. “They are irritated by the score.” The irritation does not last long. PSV soon manages to convert their better play into goals and the lead becomes 6-1 in the second half. “In matches like these, we, stewards and chief stewards, often have little to do.” laughs the head steward. “Every now and then I am called to the stands for an incident and we resolve it. But I prefer to do as little as possible.”
A few minutes before the end of the match, Remco walks towards an exit from the north stand. He takes a quick look at one of the screens on which the match is being broadcast. “Two minutes extra. I expected more,” he says, and then walks back towards the gate through which thousands of supporters have to pass. “It is now up to us to ensure that everyone can go home safely.”