Ajax says hooligans snuck in with fireworks through emergency exit; Match rescheduled
The people who set off fireworks at the Ajax match against FC Groningen on Sunday came in through an emergency exit without tickets, general manager Menno Geleen of the Amsterdam football club said on Monday. The halted match will be completed in an empty stadium on Tuesday.
Ajax took additional measures after people set off fireworks at the Ajax-Heerenveen match, Geleen said, according to NOS. “We used firework detection dogs and extra searches. But as it stands now, an emergency exit was forced from inside,” he said. “That’s how a large group entered without tickets and with a lot of fireworks.”
“We are currently investigating who they are and how it happened, so we can take appropriate measures,” the Ajax general manager said.
The Eredivisie match between Ajax and Groningen was paused after only six minutes on Sunday evening after people set off fireworks on a large scale behind the goal, where the Amsterdam club’s hardcore supporters are seated. According to protocol, referee Bas Nijhuis removed both teams from the field.
When the match was resumed after consultation, supporters in the stadium set off fireworks again. So the decision was made to abandon the match.
Geleen offered “sincere apologies to everyone, especially the people who were in the stadium.” Ticket holders will be compensated, he said. “We have decided to compensate those people. We will inform them soon about how and what. It’s the least we can do.”
The Ajax management and the authorities are reviewing camera footage and trying to identify the perpetrators. The Dutch football association KNVB said on Sunday that the perpetrators would be fined €450 and banned from football stadiums for up to 60 months.
The final 84 minutes of the Ajax-FC Groningen match will be played at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday in an empty Johan Cruijff ArenA.
