Ajax fans not welcome at cup semifinal against Feyenoord in Rotterdam

No Ajax away fans are welcome at the cup semi-final between Feyenoord and Ajax in April, the municipality of Rotterdam announced on Sunday.

Fans of the Amsterdam club have not been welcome at league matches between Feyenoord and Ajax for years because of riots in the past. Even in 2019, when Feyenoord and Ajax met in the semifinals of the KNVB Cup, supporters of the Amsterdam club were not welcome in De Kuip, according to a spokesperson for the municipality of Rotterdam. According to the spokesperson, there is no reason to deviate from that now.

The Ajax Supporters' Association opposes the ban on away fans. "This is pure competition and cup forgery," director Fabian Nagtzaam said. "In the spirit of fair play and supporting our own club in the cup semifinals, it would have been nice if we were allowed to be there."

"Municipality of Rotterdam and Stadion Feijenoord, please make sure that away fans are welcome," Nagtzaam continued. "This has been going on for 13 or 14 years now. In all that time, you should be able to fix things. But that's obviously still not the case."

According to Nagtzaam, Amsterdam has long been willing to allow away games again, but Rotterdam is said to be blocking it.

Nagtzaam also said the high fences that stood at De Kuip during the Feyenoord - Ajax match in January showed that the problem is not necessarily with the away fans. "There weren't even Ajax fans present at that game, and yet the fences were necessary to prevent disturbances. It didn't look good."