ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Rotterdam municipality on Tuesday banned the Dutch top-flight match between archrivals Feyenoord and Ajax because of a planned strike by police officers at the grounds this weekend.
Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb announced the decision, saying that the “security for the players, but also for the public cannot be sufficiently guaranteed without police,” Dutch broadcaster NOS reported.
Police have been campaigning for months to maintain their right to early pensions and in recent weeks have raised the stakes by refusing to patrol around soccer matches. The main union has said that officers will hold a union meeting on Sunday instead of patrolling outside Feyenoord’s De Kuip stadium.
Feyenoord said in a statement it was disappointed at the cancellation.
“As previously indicated, we understand that people stand up for their cause,” the club said. “However, we do regret that football is being used, not for the first time, to force matters to which we are not a party.”
Matches between Feyenoord and Ajax — known as the Klassieker — have often seen crowd trouble. Last year, their game in Amsterdam was abandoned when hooligans threw fireworks on the pitch at the Johan Cruyff Arena with Feyenoord leading 3-0.
Only home fans would have been allowed into Sunday’s match at Feyenoord’s De Kuip stadium. Due to crowd trouble in the past, no traveling fans have been allowed for years at league matches between the two clubs.
It was not immediately clear when the match that was scheduled for Sunday will now be played. The Dutch soccer association said it will likely have to be moved to a weekday evening.
“That is not ideal for fans of the Klassieker, but also not for the police and the municipality,” the association said in a statement. It added that it hopes police unions and the government can reach an agreement on early pensions so that the match could still be played on Sunday.
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