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"When the fans aren't there something's
missing"
Wednesday 11 March 2009
The way Marco van Basten laughed
after the game ADO Den Haag-Ajax when he heard that
the home team had set a new visitors record was full
of cynicism.
"A record? Well, that is positive"
he added just as cynically.
With the record amount of 14,000
the stadium of ADO Den Haag was almost sold out.
And there were no visiting supporters,
as was decided by the local authorities in 2006 after
Ajax 'fans' had stormed the hangout of the fans of Den
Haag.
The measure will continue for another
two years.
The match against the arch rivals
from Amsterdam was a laden one but there were no incidents,
no negative chants and no aggressive atmosphere in the
stands nor outside the stadium.
Authorities spoke of a successful
afternoon.
Their satisfaction sparked a new
discussion: is it perhaps a good idea to stop allowing
fans to travel all together?
We asked people at ADO Den Haag
for a reaction.
The fan
"Not allowing fans of the away team in is a sign
of weakness. I hope they will not install it in the
future," says Dennis de Bruijn, chairman of the
official ADO Den Haag supporters club.
"It is a small percentage
who spoil it for the rest. And the majority should not
suffer from them. They should go after that small percentage.
It should be possible to do that, no?"
"Traveling fans are part of
a football game. It is the 12th player on the pitch.
The chants, the teasing of the other fans - in a normal
way - it's part of the game. It adds a certain tension
and is a great support for the players. Look at Feyenoord-away.
We were there with 1600 fans. Do you know what that
means to the players?"
The coach
When it stops trouble and saves money I don't have a
problem with a future without traveling fans,"
says ADO coach André Wetzel.
"If it were up to me I would
do it. Look at Sunday's match. It was a feast for everybody.
Of course it helped that there were no Ajax fans, but
that wasn't the only reason. We've made great progress
with our fans over the past seven or eight months. I
am very proud of them."
The chairman
"Football without fans of the visitors should not
be the future," says Henk Jagersma, chairman of
the Board of Directors of ADO Den Haag.
"It takes something out of
the atmosphere at a football game. We are very proud
that we were able to prove that it's possible, but we
prefer games with supporters of both teams. But the
message should be clear: clubs should take care of their
own fans. On that matter I am very happy about what
we have achieved with ours."
The player
Danny Buijs is a crowd player. "When there's trouble
and there needs to be a lot of police than traveling
fans cost a lot of money. And that increases the chance
that it will happen more often in the future that fans
are not allowed to travel to away games. It's happening
already: fans of Ajax and Feyenoord not being allowed
to travel to certain games," Buys says.
"But of course it's not good;
not for the fans and not for the players. When both
supporters goups are present it provides for a certain
atmosphere in the stadium. ADO fans always travel in
great numbers and that makes for a great rivalry in
the stands and you get a real game on the pitch. When
they're not there something's missing. The support is
important to a player. It gives you a good buzz."
The mayor
On behalf of Mayor Jozias van Aartsen of Den Haag spokesman
Gerben van den Berg states: "There must be fans
of both teams at a football game, but because of all
the problems in the past the mayors of Den Haag and
Amsterdam have agreed not to allow fans of Den Haag
and Ajax to travel to their mutual away games for five
years. Last November this agreement has been confirmed
and it was good t see that Sunday's game took place
without any problems."
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