Ban football hooligans from next away match if they misbehave: Police Chief

Away fans must be banned from the next away match if they don’t behave according to the rules at football stadiums, National Police chief Frank Paauw said in De Telegraaf on Tuesday.

“I would like to see supporters who misbehave refused at the club’s next away match. I will give this suggestion to the relevant municipality’s [police, Public Prosecution Service, and mayor],” Paauw said in the newspaper. The police chief believes it takes too long for football hooligans to feel the consequences of their actions, usually “only a season later during the same match.”

According to Paauw, clubs must also take more responsibility for the safety in the stadium. “We will not deploy capacity if clubs themselves do not have the safety concept in order,” said the police chief.

Earlier this month, Paauw wrote a letter to all police forces in the Netherlands advising to ban supporters of FC Groningen and SC Cambuur from all away matches until further notice. The advice followed Eindhoven mayor Jeroen Dijsselbloem’s decision to bar Cambuur fans from the match against PSV.

According to the police, who advised Dijsselbloem, Cambuur fans have been threatening and harassing police officers from their region for some time. Supporters of FC Groningen allegedly do the same. In Leeuwarden, mayor Sybrand Buma decided last month not to allow fans of the visiting club to attend SC Cambuur’s home matches for the rest of the season.

Jan Struijs, chairman of the national police union NPB, said last weekend in the AD that the police unions also support a complete ban on away fans at Dutch football matches. According to him, the unions have urged mayors to take this measure several times.