Amsterdam forbids Ajax-FC Utrecht match to go ahead on Sunday amid police strike

The City of Amsterdam will not allow Sunday's football match between Ajax and FC Utrecht to take place out of safety concerns. The decision was made by city authorities after police officers said they would not be present at the match as a labor action to press politicians and employers for a national early retirement scheme for workers in demanding jobs.

It is the second Ajax match to be cancelled already this season. A planned police strike also forced the top flight Eredivisie to reschedule the rivalry match between Feyenoord and Ajax that was due to take place in Rotterdam on September 1. The city's mayor, Ahmed Aboutaleb, banned the match from taking place. Most Eredivisie clubs have played four matches this season, but Ajax has only played two.

The decision about the upcoming match against FC Utrecht was made by a deputy mayor filling in for Mayor Femke Halsema, as well as the heads of the district police chief and prosecutor's office. "The safety of the players, supporters and public order in the city cannot be guaranteed without the important efforts of the police," they wrote in a joint statement on Monday.

They argued that matches between Ajax and FC Utrecht are "traditionally" a very tense event, largely due to "animosity" between some groups of supporters. They noted that riot police had to put an end to brawling between fans of the two clubs just earlier this year. Police are also badly needed for both crowd and traffic management.

"FC Utrecht and Ajax have done everything they can to ensure that the match still goes ahead and are disappointed with the decision," FC Utrecht wrote in a statement. "Police officers have every right to strike, but the club would have liked to have further explored the option of playing the match with an audience in collaboration with Ajax and the municipality of Amsterdam. The discussions held in the past few days made everyone hopeful."

"Both Ajax and FC Utrecht did everything possible to ensure the match could go ahead and are disappointed by the decision," Ajax wrote in a statement. A new date has yet to bet determined.

The city said it did try to work with Dutch football association KNVB to find other means of coping with the strike, like deploying extra Ajax workers or installing fencing to separate groups of supporters. In the end, none of these options were satisfactory. They said they understand "that the decision is a huge disappointment for the players and supporters, but the safety of the public and public order in the city are paramount. Put simply, no risks will be taken in this regard," the statement continued.

The KNVB had not commented as of 5 p.m. Previously, the KNVB and Ajax had indicated they thought it was unfair that police were targetting professional football as part of their campaign for a permanent early retirement scheme. When the latest strike was announced, Ajax fan club director Fabian Nagtzaam also said he was disappointed.

“As far as we are concerned, the match can go ahead, but that is up to the municipality. I have heard that there are feverish discussions. We just want to enjoy a nice match with 55,000 people, but apparently that is not possible in this country. And that is something which upsets us,” he told ANP.

Ajax was to play FC Utrecht at the Johan Cruijff Arena at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. A rescheduled date is expected to be announced "shortly," said FC Utrecht. But finding an appropriate date could be a puzzle piece. Aside from the rescheduled match between Feyenoord and Ajax at the end of October, the Amsterdam club's schedule includes its matches in the Europa League and the Eredivisie.

The current early retirement scheme expires next year, and covers people in a variety of physically demanding professions, including the police. A permanent replacement has been under debate for months, but the Cabinet only stepped in to join the talks at the end of the summer. Thus far, police officers have carried out other labor actions, like not issuing traffic fines in May, and closing police stations to the public and organizing noise protests.

Other unionized employees taking part in strikes and protests include rail workers, public transport workers, and janitorial service workers. Last week, Prime Minister Dick Schoof said the unions were playing games by avoiding the bargaining table, and Social Affairs Minister Eddy van Hijum has sent a new proposal to the unions. Last week, sources close to the talks said the gap between the offer and the unions' demands was too wide.