Tension is rising around ‘catch-up classic’: Amsterdam tightens measures around Johan Cruijff Arena

The area around the Johan Cruijff Arena will become a safety risk area from 12:00, the safety triangle has just announced. This means that the police may carry out preventive searches in that area this afternoon and check for the possession of fireworks or weapons, for example.

According to the triangle, there are indications that groups of supporters want to gather at the Arena, while no public is allowed there. The first riot vans have been stationed around the stadium since the end of the morning.

The remainder of Ajax’s match against Feyenoord will be played in the Arena this afternoon at 2 p.m. The match was stopped on Sunday after fireworks were thrown onto the field from the F-Side, the hard core of the club. Then there were disturbances outside the stadium.

Hard core threats

Yesterday, members of the F-Side called for people to come to the Johan Cruijff ArenA this afternoon at 1 p.m. The first step was taken on Sunday, the hard core wrote in a post on Facebook. By this they refer to the departure of technical director Sven Mislintat, which they see as a result of their own protest actions. On Sunday evening it was announced that Mislintat had been fired by Ajax.

But Mislintat appears not to be the only one on the F-Side list. The group also demands the departure of Supervisory Board members, who are seen responsible for the appointment of Mislintat and the fact that the new director, Alex Kroes, cannot start his new position until March.

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