Feyenoord fans have been barred from travelling to the team’s next two away matches in the Eredivisie after fireworks were let off in Cambuur Leeuwarden’s stadium when the teams met at the weekend.
Seven home fans were injured after the fireworks erupted in the away supporters’ enclosure in De Kooi stadium on Sunday. Police and the club are investigating how fans managed to smuggle large quantities into the stadium.
The club said on Wednesday it had decided not to allow supporters into the away end for the away matches at NEC Nijmegen on September 5 and PEC Zwolle on September 13.
“Obviously this is the last thing we want, but we feel we have no alternative after what went on in Leeuwarden,” managing director Robert Eenhoorn said on the club’s website.
“It means coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team will have to play on foreign soil twice without the backing of their own supporters.“
On Tuesday, the mayor of Nijmegen, Hubert Bruls, said he would ban Feyenoord fans from the Goffertstadion unless those responsible for the fireworks at Cambuur were arrested.
Feyenoord won the match in Leeuwarden 5-2 after a 20-minute break. Referee Danny Makkelie later questioned guidelines that say a match should be abandoned if a player is struck by objects thrown from the crowd, but nothing about injuries to supporters.
“It’s an agreement made between the clubs, not us,” Makkelie explained. “I don’t know what the reason for it is, because it’s just as bad whether players or supporters are hit.”
