Feyenoord fan gets stadium ban for anti-Semitic, anti-LGBT posts on social media

The Dutch football association KNVB has handed Gijs van D. (61), a board member of supporter association De Feijenoorder, a six-year stadium ban due to homophobic and anti-Semitic remarks he made on X, the platform previously known as Twitter. Rijnmond reported this news on Tuesday.

This stadium ban comes after a court decision last month in which the individual received 120 hours of community service, with half suspended, for his remarks on social media. For example, he tweeted the text "Feyenoord Jodenvrij," which translates to "Feyenoord free of Jews." This refers to the German word "Judenfrein," a term of Nazi origin to designated areas that had been cleansed of Jews during the Holocaust.

He also posted an Ajax logo with a hooked nose drawn on it, a well-known anti-Semitic trope. Ajax has long been viewed by some as a “Jewish” team because the team is based in Amsterdam, though it has never actually had an affiliation with any Jewish organization. Anti-Semitic chants targeting Ajax and its fans, who sometimes refer to themselves as "Super Jews", have gone on for decades.

Van D. also shared an image of a rocket with the abbreviation JHK on it, an abbreviation which stands for “Joden Hebben Kanker” (Jews have cancer in English).

The Feyenoord fans also shared a picture of an anti-Semitic mural in Crooswijk depicting Ajax football player Steven Berghuis as a concentration camp inmate with the text "Jews always run away," translated from Dutch. The player had at the time recently transferred from Feyenoord to rival team Ajax.

Van D. also insulted the Roze Kameraden, Feyenoord's association for LGBTQ+ supporters, on X. "The Roze Kameraad, a dildo in his seam. Surely that's not healthy, a dick in his ass," he wrote. He also shared an image of a child holding up the middle finger with the text, "Protect our comrades." In the background, a rainbow flag goes up in flames. "Stop LGBT," he also wrote.

Rijnmond reported in July that the court called those texts and images "rude, condescending, distasteful. Legally, it amounts to insult and discrimination against groups." The Public Prosecution Service also said regarding his remarks. "It is extra harmful because you are a board member of De Feijenoorder. You have a lot of prestige and influence among the supporters."

Gijs van D. is a well-known figure among Feyenoord supporters. He became known for filming football riots. Since the 2016 merger between FSV (Feyenoord Supporters Association) and De Feijenoorder, Van D. has been a board member of De Feijenoorder. When Rijmond attempted to contact him on Tuesday for a statement, they did not receive a response.

It remains uncertain whether Van D. will retain his board member position with the supporters' association. According to the De Feijenoorder chairman, Kees Lau, a stadium ban doesn't automatically disqualify someone from serving on the FSV board. "There is nothing in our statutes about that," he said.

In response to the situation, Feyenoord stated they "do not address individual cases,” adding they generally adhere to the stadium bans set by the KNVB.