Dutch football wants to reward fans' good behavior, instead of punishing hooligans

Professional football clubs are going to work on rewarding good behavior to combat crowd trouble. The Dutch Football Association, KNVB, reported this in its plan for next season, which includes 21 other measures. The KNVB is asking for help from municipalities and police so that fans have more freedom to go to matches themselves instead of being obligated to travel by bus.

Other examples of rewarding good behavior include getting rid of the nets placed in front of the away fans if they behave or giving them a hospitable reception. This happened last season at the PEC Zwolle-PSV match when a DJ was performing in the away end. Heracles Almelo handed out coffee, tea, and sandwiches to away fans.

"Fans appreciate these activities, and they seem to have a positive effect on their behavior. These ideas are the starting point for the pilots and the research," the KNVB writes in a press release.

Clubs, in collaboration with police and municipalities, will be responsible for organizing at least one "perfect" match in terms of hospitality. Even small things, like offering fans a sandwich, can play a role in achieving this goal, according to a spokesperson..

There was crowd trouble during the playoff matches last weekend of FC Utrecht- Go Ahead Eagles and Excelsior-ADO Den Haag. The KNVB thinks that rewarding good behavior would be a big part of the solution to this behavior.

The association emphasized that the number of incidents in stadiums decreased in the 2022/2023 season. They expect that downward spiral to continue this season. The statistics regarding this will be available in autumn.

The lower house of the Dutch parliament, the Tweede Kamer, debated 'football and safety' on Wednesday. The KNVB wants more government support for rewarding good behavior, but the association is also pleading for the introduction of criminal stadium bans.

The idea is that because serious violations also lead to a criminal record, the deterrent effect is more significant; this has already happened in England.