The Dutch women's football team beat Slovenia 4-1 in a European Championship qualifier in Arnhem on Tuesday. Coach Sarina Wiegman is very satisfied, calling the victory a fitting conclusion to a beautiful year.
Kaja Erzen scored the first goal for Slovina in the GelreDome, but after that the Oranje Lionesses quickly took over the match. Sherida Spitse put the Netherlands on the scoreboard, scoring twice via two penalties, after which Vivianne Miedema also scored two goals, NU.nl reports.
An 18-year-old man from Amsterdam was sentenced to 18 months in prison, four of which conditionally suspended, by the court in Amsterdam on Wednesday. The court found him guilty of hanging a hand grenade on an outer wall of football club ADO's supporters home in The Hague. Two other men were acquitted, NU.nl reports.
Over 70 amateur football clubs in the Netherlands have noticed signals of organized crime trying to get a foothold in the club. These signals include dubious sponsors, people who offer drugs, and sponsors or lenders who want to remain anonymous, RTL Nieuws reports based on its own research.
Ajax and Chelsea tied 4-4 in a crazy Champions League match on Tuesday. The Amsterdam team led 1-4 until they received two red cards on one play early in the second half. The team is furious, coach Erik Ten Hag and various players said to NOS.
The first goals for both teams were scored within the first minutes of the match - an own goal by Tammy Abraham and a penalty by Jorginho. During the rest of the first half, Quincy Promes and Hakim Ziyech brought Ajax to 1-3. Shortly after the break, Donny van de Beek made it 1-4 and the match seemed to be decided.
Dick Advocaat is the new head coach of Feyenoord. He signed a contract that lasts until the end of the season and is bringing John de Wolf and Cor Pot with him to be his assistants, AD reports.
Feyenoord fans were not happy with the 4-0 loss the Rotterdam team suffered in an Eredivisie match against Ajax in Amsterdam on Sunday. Around 300 furious fans gathered at training complex 1908 and pelted the Feyenoord bus with fireworks and glasses as the players returned home, AD reports.
Even before the players arrived back in Rotterdam, there was a lot of angry yelling and shouting, according to the newspaper. Supporters jumped onto a police bus, which drove off with howling sirens, forcing the men to jump off.
After two victories, Ajax suffered its first loss in the group phase of the Champions League against Chelsea on Wednesday. The match in the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam ended 0-1 after a goal by Quincy Promes was rejected by the video assistant referee (VAR). The Amsterdam players feel "robbed".
AZ will also replace the roof above the main stand of the AFAS stadium, the club announced on Tuesday. Investigation launched after part of the stadium's roof collapsed in a storm in August showed that this part of the stadium's roof is also unsafe.
Around 25 shops and liquor stores in the Red Light District will not be allowed to sell alcohol on Wednesday afternoon in the run-up to the Champions League match between Ajax and Chelsea. Bars will be allowed to serve alcohol, but only for consumption in the bar. The municipality of Amsterdam hopes to prevent problems caused by drunk football fans, Het Parool reports.
A difficult victory against Belarus on Sunday put the Dutch national team another step closer to the European Championship 2020. Oranje beat the Russians 1-2 in Minsk, thanks to two goals scored by Georginio Wijnaldum. The Dutch footballers are pleased with the victory, but critical of their performance.
The victory keeps the Netherlands in the lead in group C of the playoffs, with 15 points from six matches. Germany also has 15 points, but is in second place due to a poorer underlying result. Northern Ireland is in third place with 12 points from six matches.
In a difficult match between Oranje and Northern Ireland in the Kuip in Rotterdam, the Dutch team booked an important victory in the final phase of the European Championship qualification on Thursday. Thanks to goals by substitute Luuk de Jong and Memphis Depay, Oranje won 3-1, putting the team in the lead of group C. The Dutch footballers and coach Ronald Koeman are relieved.
The Irishmen were first on the score board. Depay brought the score up to 1-1. The last two goals were scored in injury time, one by Depay, one by De Jong.
A total of 90 football supporters from Groningen were arrested in Amsterdam before the match between Ajax and FC Groningen on Saturday. According to the police, the Groningen supporters came to Amsterdam to start a fight with Ajax supporters. They were each fined 120 euros and released after the match, a spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service in Amsterdam said to AD on Sunday.
Despite Cristiano Ronaldo voting for Oranje men, the title for FIFA's best male footballer of the year went to Lionel Messi. Oranje captain Virgil van Dijk came in second place. Dutch Sari van Veenendaal won the title for best female keeper of the year, NU.nl reports.
The number of Dutch sports clubs that banned smoking more than doubled this past year. Currently the Netherlands counts 1,152 sports clubs and associations that banned smoking partly or completely, compared to around 550 last year, RTL Nieuws reports.
The number of football clubs that banned smoking increased in the same line as other sports clubs, from 208 last year to 432 now. 94 football clubs banned smoking completely, and 338 others are partly smoke-free, football association KNVB said to the broadcaster.
The parliamentary debate on the national budget on Thursday was apparently not exciting enough to keep the attention of all those present. Ministers Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security and Cora van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure and Water Management were caught watching football while Prime Minister Mark Rutte spoke.
A man who was shot and killed in Amsterdam Zuidoost on Wednesday night was identified as 32-year-old former football player Kelvin Maynard, the police confirmed on Thursday morning.
Former football player Fernando Ricksen died of degenerative muscle disease ALS at the age of 43 on Wednesday. Many of the football teams he played for responded with sadness to his death.
Ricksen was diagnosed with ALS in 2013. He had been staying in a hospice in Scotland since the start of this year and had already announced that he would die there, according to NU.nl. Over the past weeks, the footballer was only able to move his eyes, but could still communicate through a speech computer.
The Amsterdam police arrested 303 supporters of French football club Lille OSC at the Strandvliet subway station in Amsterdam on Tuesday for disrupting public order. The large group of football fans lit fireworks, used violence and walked on the subway tracks. By Tuesday night, eight of them were still in custody, the police said on Twitter.
Oranje has its football groove back, as shown by the recent friendly wins over Estonia and Germany. The success is due to the fact that Oranje is much more united today than it was in earlier periods, said attacker Ryan Babel, who scored two goals against Estonia on Monday, referring to the Big 4 footballers' egos, Voetbalzone reports.
Dutch football association KNVB is stepping up the fight against discrimination and racism in amateur football. From this season onwards, discrimination reports will be registered separately, instead of under the 'border crossing behavior' category as in the past, a KNVB spokesperson said to NRC.
The partial collapse of the AFAS Stadion roof earlier this month was caused by the downward force of heavy winds. The stadium, home of Alkmaar-based football club AZ, will now undergo a renovation in which roughly 75 percent of the roof will be renovated or replaced.
With a 2-0 victory over APOEL Nicosia on Wednesday, Ajax is officially through to the Champions League. Coach Erik ten Hag and the team are delighted. "It feels like doping", Ten Hag said to RTL Nieuws after the match.
The first goal was scored in the first half of the match by Edson Alvarez, with an assist from Hakim Ziyech. The second was scored in the second half by captain Dusan Tadic, with an assist from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
A 34-year-old linesman was fined 500 euros for assault by the police court in Haarlem. As linesman for Haarlem football club Geel-Wit, the man punched the goalkeeper of football club UNO in the head during a match on March 30th. The goalkeeper lost consciousness and sustained a concussion, NU.nl reports.
Wesley Sneijder is no longer playing professional football, the 35-year-old midfielder said almost in passing when announcing that he had "signed" with FC Utrecht. In reality, the signing was with the FC Utrecht Business Club, which gives fans access to skyboxes, hospitality lounges, and special events.
"My feeling for the city is great. Now that I have stopped playing football, I want to have a nice place to share my memories", he said to FC Utrecht TV. The native Utrechter decided to rent out a sky box in the Galgenwaard stadium.
