Crowd trouble halts two Dutch Cup games; Fans face potential criminal charges
Two matches in the KNVB Cup were temporarily halted on Tuesday evening due to crowd trouble. The games between FC Den Bosch and ADO Den Haag, and the amateur side VV Gemert and Eredivisie Fortuna Sittard, were suspended due to fans from both teams fighting with each other.
The Dutch Football Association, the KNVB, has stated that the supporters involved will face severe penalties, potentially including criminal charges and lengthy stadium bans.
Riot police were deployed in Den Bosch to clear the pitch after fans of both clubs, who play in the second Dutch division, the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, started fighting after ADO made it 3-2 in their favor through Daryl van Mieghem. Fans ran onto the pitch and threw fireworks at each other. Police came onto the pitch with the police dogs, and the game was only restarted when the away fans' section of supporters from The Hague was evacuated.
The trouble between Gemert and Fortuna Sittard occurred after halftime. Supporters threw objects at each other behind the goal. The second half began with a 15-minute delay.
In the end, the games were won by Fortuna Sittard and FC Den Bosch, who beat ADO with penalties after the game had finished 3-3.
On the footballing front, it was a memorable evening for three amateur sides as they were successful in knocking out their professional opponents. GVVV, Hoogeveen, and Katwijk went through to the next round, defeating the Keuken Kampioen Divisie sides De Graafschap, FC Emmen, and Vitesse.
The most convincing victory went to GVVV. The team from Veenendaal defeated De Graafschap 4-2 on the Verlengde Sportlaan. The amateur side, who played at the highest amateur level, were leading 2-0 after just six minutes.
Hoogeveen, who play in the third division, the second-highest amateur level. Defeated FC Emmen 1-0 thanks to a penalty from Sander Egbers.
Katwijk were able to defeat the former KNVB Cup winners Vitesse on penalties after the game had ended 1-1 in Katwijk. The penalties ended 4-3 in the amateur sides' favor.
The KNVB Cup first round continues on Wednesday and Thursday evening.
