The 27-year-old Groningen man who ran onto the field with a banner during FC Groningen-Ajax on Sunday will not be prosecuted. The man will only be fined for not being able to show an identity document, says a spokesman for the Public Prosecution Service (OM).
A police spokesman previously reported that entering a football field is not an offence. The field attacker helped to stop the game on Sunday. The game was eventually abandoned after supporters threw smoke bombs on the pitch for the second time.
The municipality of Groningen announced on Tuesday that it is concerned about safety in the stadium due to incidents like this. Next Sunday, FC Groningen will play the last home match of this season against Sparta Rotterdam.
According to a municipal spokesman, that duel may only take place if safety in the stadium is guaranteed and the municipality knows how the club will arrange this. This week, the club and the municipality will hold talks, after which the municipality will decide on the permit. The match may only be played without an audience.
Hooligans would have FC Groningen in their grip
Hooliganism at FC Groningen is a major problem. Newspaper of the North writes on Wednesday that a number of security guards, catering staff and possibly volunteers from the club are not able to withstand the pressure of hooligans and do not intervene if they hit supporters with fireworks, such as smoke bombs.
For example, a security guard tells the newspaper that he caught a hooligan with fireworks. The hooligan told the security guard to keep quiet about it, because he knew where the security guard lives and where his children go to school. Then the security guard would have let the hooligan continue.
FC Groningen said on Sunday that it had made every effort to prevent disturbances, such as the deployment of extra stewards and checks on fireworks. On Tuesday, the game was played without an audience. Ajax won 2-3.
