Community service for lynching black footballer effigy

On Wednesday Ajax supporter Ferdi T. was sentenced to 60 hours of community service for lynching a doll made to look like Feyenoord goalkeeper Kenenth Vermeer during a match between the two teams early this year. The court also imposed a stadium ban of two years. The 27-year-old man was found guilty of insulting and threatening Vermeer, NU.nl reports.

Two weeks ago the Public Prosecutor demanded 80 hours of community service, half of which conditionally suspended, and an area ban for the Amsterdam Arena for three years.

The incident happened at the Amsterdam Arena on February 7th, during a match between Ajax and Feyenoord. T. took a dark-colored inflatable doll and hung it with a rope around its neck from stands 410. The doll was wearing a white shirt with "Vermeer 1" written on one side and "NSB" (former fascist party in the Netherlands) written on the other side. Vermeer used to play for Ajax, but left for rival Feyenoord in 2014.

T. told the court that this was a joke that got out of hand. He saw the doll lying in the stands and decided to throw it over the railing when he saw Vermeer walk onto the field.

The court ruled, however, that his action were "inseparable from football violence in general" and in the context it was threatening to Vermeer.