'Shame on you!' Crowd trouble rocks Netherlands soccer
The long-standing rivalry between Dutch powerhouses Ajax and Feyenoord is one of the fiercest in Europe. The twice-annual league match between the teams is appointment viewing for soccer fans around the globe. It's also known for fierce and fast play, full of sparks.
On Sunday, though, those sparks weren't just figurative. With home team Ajax down in the first half, 3-0, fans pelted the field with fireworks and flares, forcing the game to be abandoned.
"This no longer has anything to do with football and being a supporter," Dutch justice minister Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius said, referencing the rioters. "You play with the safety of the players, fellow supporters and yourself. Shame on you!"
The rivalry between Ajax and Feyenoord stretches beyond soccer and into the complicated intertwined history of the cities.
Ajax is from Amsterdam, a city representing culture, artistry and the upper classes of Dutch society. Feyenoord, meanwhile, is from Rotterdam, which represents industry, trade and the working class. The cities have bristled at one another for centuries, and soccer became an outlet for that shared frustration when the clubs first met in 1921.
Violence between Ajax and Feyenoord fans is common — common enough that Feyenoord's supporters were actually banned from Sunday's match in the first place. That means that all of the flares, fireworks and violence came exclusively from Ajax's fans with apparently no incitement from the other side.
In the Netherlands, if games are suspended due to violence or crowd trouble, they are replayed at a later date. In most countries, games marred by crowd trouble are immediately cancelled, with a 3-0 win being awarded to the victimized team.
For Ajax fans, angry and alone in the stadium while their team was being hammered by its biggest rival, violence evidently became a way for them to seize control of the situation. If the match had continued without interference, Feyenoord would have certainly won. With this riot-driven suspension, though, the game will be replayed, giving Ajax a chance to snatch a victory instead.
It's a troubling state of affairs that encourages violence rather than preventing it, and one that many Dutch soccer pundits are bemoaning in the aftermath of Sunday's riot. Retired player Marco Van Basten's voice was one of the loudest.
"Just stop with professional football in the Netherlands," he said. "This just keeps on happening. It can't go on like this."
Crowd trouble has risen in Europe since the COVID-19 pandemic, with many countries reporting increased soccer-based violence. In England, perpetrators of in-stadium violence are arrested, banned from soccer grounds for life and required to "check in" at police stations during every home match their preferred club plays. This has helped soccer teams ensure the safety of their spectators.
In the Netherlands, though, municipal police departments are wary of committing resources to soccer-based violence, making stadium bans woefully unenforceable.
The Ajax-Feyenoord game is set to be replayed Wednesday. Both teams have pushed back against this decision. Ajax is interested in reducing fixture congestion and replaying this game later in the season.
Feyenoord, meanwhile, isn't interested in replaying it at all. It believes it's the victim. The team has a point. With no Feyenoord fans present in the stadium and a 3-0 win thrown away through no fault of its own, the club is right to feel aggrieved about the situation.
One thing is for certain: When the replay takes place, it will happen without fans to witness a hugely important match on the Dutch soccer calendar.
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