TOP Oss and FC Den Bosch started the first game with an audience of 2022 on Friday evening. The stadiums were closed for a number of months due to the corona crisis. The supporters still have to sit at a distance of one and a half meters from each other, but that turns out to be a difficult task in practice.
Half an hour before the match, the stands are ‘full’. 1500 people are allowed in on Friday evening. They should all keep a distance of one and a half meters, but most fans immediately seek each other out.
The hard core gathers behind the goal and creates the atmosphere as before. A group of a few hundred men stands close together. There is no question of sitting.
Before the competition, TOP Oss general manager Peter Bijvelds still has hope that everyone will adhere to the rules. “Of course there will be cheers for a goal. And people may then also hug each other, but then everyone will just sit back in their place.”
Those expectations can quickly go in the trash. After a week in which football resisted the meager third occupation. The clubs prefer to have at least two thirds of the stadiums filled. Bijvelds made that clear once again before the match. “I am here with mixed feelings. We had hoped and expected to be here with even more people in the stadium. But that there are again 1500 people in the stadium is of course very nice.”
Bijvelds hopes that the cabinet will soon allow more supporters in the stadiums. He looks abroad with envy. “We have proven that it can be done safely. Football has also often been an experiment. It is then distressing that in the countries around us the stadiums are full again thanks to our investigations and we still have to make do with only a small part.”
At TOP Oss they do not set a good example. They may not be to blame either. Earlier this season, the stadiums were still full. Research showed that there were no sources of infection during matches. This sentiment also prevails among the supporters present.
“Isn’t this just possible? It all went well earlier this season. And then we should suddenly be one and a half meters apart,” said a fan.
Another supporter claims to adhere to the rules at the gate. “I am happy that I can go to the stadium again. It is of course a pity about the measures, but I think that if things go well, we can go to the stadium again soon without rules.”
Whether they can think the same way in The Hague remains to be seen. There will be a new weighing moment in a few weeks. Then it will also be determined whether the stadiums can be fuller.