No police presence at NAC-Ajax match due to early retirement scheme protests

The police will not be deployed at the Eredivisie match NAC-Ajax in Breda on Sunday, as the four police unions are campaigning for a better early retirement at that time. They are organizing rallies during the match and calling on members to attend.

Every weekend, the unions choose matches from the Eredivisie to take action. This happened for the first time on Saturday during the FC Twente-Sparta match in Enschede. A spokesperson for FC Twente said afterwards that it was a very quiet match, which went off without any incidents.

Police unions have been campaigning for a structural early retirement scheme since this spring. The scheme, which has been in place since 2021, is temporary. It allows police officers to stop working three years before their state pension age.

However, the unions want a permanent arrangement. "The fact that police work is hard work is unfortunately too often evident at football matches," the four unions stated in a press release.

The police unions called on the government to support the union's demand for a better early retirement plan. "The government must take explicit and visible steps to make early retirement possible for police officers. The mayors and KNVB administrators can contribute by explicitly supporting and promoting the call to the minister."

Breda Mayor Paul Depla said earlier that there was no reason for the police to be present at the NAC-Ajax match. "This is immediately a great opportunity for the supporters to show that football can be played without the presence of the police," Depla said.

The NAC-Ajax match starts at 4:45 p.m. in the Rat Verlegh Stadium.