Huge European derby postponed with players’ safety ‘not guaranteed’ as police go on strike
DUTCH football’s biggest rivalry has been postponed due to police strikes in the Netherlands.
Feyenoord vs Ajax – known as De Klassieker – has been called off after Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb “banned” the fixture from going ahead without a police presence.
De Klassieker is the biggest rivalry in Dutch top flight football with rivalries between the cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam pre-dating the footballing hatred by hundreds of years.
The history and passion behind it has led to crowd trouble, violence and hooliganism at the fixtures.
And after Rotterdam cops announced that they would join a nationwide 24-hour police strike for “decent early retirement” during the fixture, the city’s mayor postponed this Sunday’s clash.
Mayor Aboutaleb said: “This is a decision that I have taken in consultation with the safety triangle.
“The safety of the players, but also of the public, cannot be sufficiently guaranteed without the deployment of the police.
“This decision was communicated to the parties involved this afternoon.”
A statement by the Dutch FA, the KNVB, urged the government and the police unions to reach an agreement on early retirement before the weekend to allow de Klassieker to be played.
It read: “The government and the police are both important partners of football.
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“That is why we as football can never stand between these parties. We call on them to enter into discussions with each other.
“Early retirement is being discussed explicitly in politics and we would have liked to see this discussion concluded before action was taken.
“We hope that the parties will reach a starting point before the weekend and that the Klassieker can then continue as normal on Sunday.”
The game was due to kick off at 1:30pm this Sunday in Feyenoord’s De Kuip stadium.
Just two points separate the fierce rivals in the Eredivisie as things stand, with the game holding weight in terms of both league standings and bragging rights.
Last season’s clashes saw Feyenoord embarrass their rivals 6-0 and 4-0 in the league.