Duel Duffel – Blaasveld stopped after using bengal fire: “Hopefully the problem doesn’t spread to this level” | Sports nearby

“In the first half, the visitors’ game was already quite sturdy and the referee was hurled curses at it,” says SC Duffel representative Tim Everaerts. “At half time he asked us to address those people about it and we did that, but we couldn’t do more. When a visitor got his second yellow card and the trainer was also excluded a little later, the fence was completely over. The referee wanted to send everyone inside for ten minutes to calm things down, but then Bengal fire was promptly lit at one of the corner flags. It was not thrown on our terrain, but the game was immediately stopped because the ref no longer felt safe in those circumstances.”

“The police were called in, but those people immediately started walking. We have no idea who they were. They were young guys with hats on, that’s all we know. As clubs we are of course powerless. This is public domain. As a club we are not authorized to just throw people out. That is why we have now contacted the football association to ask how we can still act against this. The use of stewards then seems an option, but of course there is a cost involved. For clubs at our level, this is not self-evident. Hopefully the problem of the last few weeks in the top class will not spread to the lower leagues.”

Uncertainty about the perpetrators and that’s why we put our ear to listen in Blaasveld. Judging by the match conditions, the amok makers seemed to come from the visiting camp earlier, but that is emphatically denied. “Blaasveld was only present with a very small delegation, because on Saturday we had the last night of our mussel festival,” says club secretary Ken Reyniers. “Therefore I confirm that they are not our people.”

“Who is is also a mystery to us. They apparently came out of nowhere and possibly only with the intention of disrupting the match. The fact that a complaint was lodged against unknown persons underlines these suspicions. It could just as well be people from the Duffel area who, now that football in the first division has come to a standstill, want to run amok in the lower series. Let’s hope not. The use of pyrotechnic material is not new in our series, but it has always been intended to create extra atmosphere.”

“What we think is a reason for the derailment of the match is the failure to appoint an official referee by the Football Association. The home team did find an alternative, but that way you always get food for discussion. I am also a referee myself and this season I also refereed five matches of my own club because no one was assigned by the union. Then you can still try so hard to whistle neutrally, that attitude will always be doubted more quickly.”

“But the referee on Saturday night was indeed neutral,” adds Duffel representative Everaerts. “No one was appointed and it is true that we found someone else from the area, but he was not connected to SC Duffel. It was a referee who was free at that time and Blaasveld agreed with that. Otherwise you can’t start the game.”

“It is a structural problem in terms of the influx of referees,” Reyniers adds. “In reserve series there are no referees available at all, but also in fourth provincial the clubs often have to solve it themselves. That is why we propose to use the linesmen in the first and second provincial as head referees in the fourth provincial. In this way, we may already solve part of the problem.”

“What will be decided about the match now? We suspect that it will have to be replayed or that both clubs will be penalized. We do not assume that Blaasveld will receive a sanction for stopping the race, because we simply cannot be held responsible for that.”

“Because of our dinner party, we previously found a mutual agreement with Duffel to reverse the game on the calendar. So we would play at home this weekend on Sunday afternoon and Duffel on Saturday evening in the return round. Unfortunately, for reasons that are unclear, that hit a not of the football association. Unfortunately.”