Scandal in Groningen: Ajax game canceled

Anyone who was looking forward to an exciting football afternoon was bitterly disappointed in Groningen on Sunday. FC Groningen’s first division game against Ajax Amsterdam was abandoned after smoke bombs were thrown on the field several times. After an initial interruption, the Dutch Eredivisie game was kicked off again. But less than nine minutes had been played on Sunday when the referee stopped the game. Smoke bombs were detonated again and thrown on the lawn. At the time of the demolition it was still 0-0.

After just six minutes, fans of hosts Groningen, second from bottom in the Dutch first division, reportedly set off flares and threw them onto the pitch. Pictures show them lying near the penalty area with heavy black smoke billowing out.

A supporter also ran onto the field with a poster despite the deployment of security forces. The players of both teams left the field and went to the cabins. The transmitter NOS according to the interruption lasted almost a quarter of an hour.

Smoke bombs landed on the field again less than three minutes after the game had restarted. Referee Jeroen Manschot explained to the broadcaster ESPNthat a corresponding scenario had been discussed in the consultations before the game. There were signals that something could happen.

Groningen has been repeatedly affected by fan riots in the recent past. The game against NEC Nijmegen on April 23 had to be abandoned after an assistant referee was hit by a cup. In mid-March against SC Heerenveen, an attempted space attack by the supporters had already caused a riot, in which ex-Bundesliga professional Jetro Willems hit on the head with a fist. However, the game continued with Willems on the pitch.