The riots after the promotion game between ADO Den Haag and Excelsior on Sunday did not make Dirk Kuijt hesitate to get started as head coach of ADO. “I mainly look at football and beautiful positive things. There were more than 14,000 people here on Sunday who wanted to make it a football party,” he said during his presentation in the stadium of his new club.
ADO Den Haag lost on Sunday evening after penalties from Excelsior, which is promoted to the Eredivisie. The play-off game was stopped several times and afterwards riots broke out inside and outside the stadium. Rioters from ADO entered the playing field and threw fireworks at Excelsior fans. They then sought a confrontation with the police.
“I think ADO has responded well to those problems,” said Kuijt after signing a 1-year contract with an option for another season. “I don’t think you can charge the club much. ADO can’t do much about this. I agree with national coach Louis van Gaal. This is a social problem. You have to broaden it a lot. We have to tackle the problems together and if necessary, hard. As a Liverpool player, I know how dangerous it is when supporters come on the field. But as ADO coach I mainly want to concentrate on football. I hope not to experience such misery as Sunday.”
Kuijt has had an eventful weekend. A day before ADO’s duel with Excelsior, he was present as an analyst at the final of the Champions League between Real Madrid and Liverpool. His son and family had received tickets for the final battle from Liverpool. They ended up amid riots that broke out when fans tried to enter the stadium without a valid ticket. During the disturbances, Kuijt’s son was sprayed with pepper spray in his eyes.