ANPAjax midfielder Davy Klaassen was hit by a lighter thrown from the crowd
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 15:30
Hugo van der Parre
Research Editor
Hugo van der Parre
Research Editor
The combination of smuggled in torches and fireworks, large banners and overcrowded supporter sections, with all stairs occupied, caused major fire safety risks. This is evident from research by the Football and Safety Audit Team into the events surrounding that match.
The researchers call it miraculous that there were no casualties at the match, where only Feyenoord fans were present. The combination of torches and banners is “extremely dangerous”, says chairman Bezuijen of the audit team.
Rotterdam mayor Aboutaleb is shocked by the report. “Just under the banner there were many fireworks and torches. If that banner caught fire, it could have serious consequences. We have to learn from that,” said Aboutaleb. He is then thinking of a ban on large-scale atmospheric actions with banners and torches.
Incident investigation
At the request of the Rotterdam quadrangle (municipality, police, Public Prosecution Service and Feyenoord itself), the Football and Safety Audit Team conducted a so-called incident investigation into the events at Feyenoord-Ajax on April 5.
Before and during the match there were many fireworks and smoke around the field, during the match numerous objects were thrown onto the field, the low point being a lighter that injured Ajax player Davy Klaassen.
A reconstruction shows that under pressure from impatient supporters, it was decided to stop frisking at some entrance gates shortly before the match, causing many people to enter unchecked. At another entrance, people in possession of torches are stopped. Elsewhere, police intercept bags thrown over the fence. It contains fourteen pieces of fireworks.
Torches under the banner
Around kick-off, a large banner with the Feyenoord logo is unfurled in the crowded Gerard Meijer Stand behind the goal. Several torches are lit around and under the banner. Immediately after the kick-off of the match, many fireworks are set off for a second time. A cloud of black smoke is created that is so large that the referee has to stop the match.
Setting off the fireworks is a coordinated action, according to the audit team’s investigation. For example, the torches are numbered according to locations in the stadium and flares are set off at different locations simultaneously.
ANPVuurwerk during the match on April 5
In the second half, the tension reaches a boiling point when, after an incident between captains Kökçü and Tadic, dozens of cups of beer and more than a hundred coins, caps, bottles and lighters are thrown onto the field. One of the lighters hits Klaassen. He falls to the ground and is left with a bleeding head wound.
Overcrowded boxes
In some sections there are many more supporters than is allowed. The stairs are also completely occupied. It is the combination of crowded stairs and compartments, a lot of fireworks, smoke and a very large flag over the heads of the people that causes the researchers great concern.
“The chance that the flag could have caught fire due to torches or shot projectiles and that in the fire and smoke people would have panicked, people would have suffered burns and that people would be oppressed is too great not to do anything about it and therefore action must be taken,” the audit team wrote.
Mayor Aboutaleb is also critical of Feyenoord because of the number of tickets the club had sold. “Maybe it means that that part of the stadium is too busy. More tickets are sold than there are people allowed to stand,” says Aboutaleb.
Heysel and Hillsborough
The researchers make a comparison with the Heysel tragedy (1985) and the Hillsborough disaster (1989), in which dozens of people died in the stands. There are also similarities with the dramas at major events such as the Roskilde Festival (2000) and the Love Parade in Duisburg (2010).
“None of the aforementioned situations are the same, but they have similar components: large masses of people coming together for a specific reason, going in the same direction at the same time to be somewhere,” the researchers write.
In those cases there is a significant risk of an emergency, such as fights, fire or a collapse. “When panic breaks out, there is no guarantee that people will make it to the emergency exit in one piece, even if they are open, because the masses will start to move and there is a good chance that people will fall over, get trampled or, for example, become victims of the fire that is there at that moment.”
ANNPAfter the lighter incident, the match was stopped
The researchers are pleased with the way Feyenoord tackles suspects. This is done quickly and efficiently, but it is by no means successful in catching all offenders. Stewards in and around the stadium also speak to virtually no one about undesirable behavior, which means it continues to exist. This is partly a conscious choice, because the safety of the staff should not be jeopardized, people prefer to de-escalate or wait for a better moment to intervene.
Finally, the audit team notes that the parties involved do work together, but that they do not blindly trust each other. Some have admitted that they do not reveal anything during discussions, because they fear that the shared information can leak out, for example to the hard core of Feyenoord fans.
2023-11-14 14:30:32
#FeyenoordAjax #lifethreatening #situation
