Cambuur-Go Ahead Eagles abandoned at 4-0 after fireworks from away fans

Fireworks and a half-hour stoppage

Cambuur led 4-0 when the Eredivisie match against Go Ahead Eagles was halted on Saturday, 31 October. Ismaël Baouf headed the home side into the lead early on, and Billy van Duijl headed in a 3-0 lead just before half-time. Rafik El Arguioui made it 4-0, and according to NOS, fireworks were first set off by Go Ahead supporters after that goal. Earlier, Søren Tengstedt had hit the post for the visitors, and Tengstedt and Thibo Baeten still had chances after the break.

Referee Serdar Gözübüyük sent both teams to the dressing rooms after the first fireworks, and play resumed after about half an hour. Gelderlander reports that the match had already been stood still for 31 minutes at that point, and that fireworks had been set off by Go Ahead supporters at several moments during the game, including in the first half. Sources give the minute of the stoppage differently: NOS cites the 82nd minute, Gelderlander the 81st, and de Volkskrant the 80th, when Go Ahead fell 4-0 behind.

Play went on for a very short time, but new fireworks followed, and the referee abandoned the match for good. Gelderlander reports that the officials had initially intended to finish the game after the first interruption, but that the attempt went wrong again straight after the restart.

Why the match was not completed

Gelderlander links the KNVB's tightened protocol to the Cambuur-Feyenoord match earlier this season, when Feyenoord supporters threw fireworks towards the pitch and at other fans. Under the revised rules, fireworks thrown towards the pitch lead to an immediate abandonment, and the same applies when fireworks land in another supporters' section. Van Dop said the KNVB rules required an immediate stoppage, but that both clubs had asked the local triangle to let the match be played out.

The remaining nine minutes plus stoppage time will have to be played in Leeuwarden, with Go Ahead returning to the Cambuur ground in the week after the match. Gelderlander reports that the restant will be played without supporters, and that no date has been set.

Club reaction

Speaking to ESPN, Go Ahead Eagles director Jan-Willem van Dop said a few instigators were ruining the match for everyone else. He said that after the match was stopped, he was ashamed of a small group of fans. He said he hoped the club could take firm action against the supporters who appear on camera.

“It is a real shame that a few people manage to spoil it for everyone else, and that bothers me the most. This does not fit Go Ahead Eagles.”

Van Dop also criticised the search procedures at the stadium, saying that supporters could not be frisked and could only be patted down, and that officials appeared powerless. He said the club had no appetite to travel back for ten minutes of play, and that he hoped the KNVB would review its rules. As far as he was concerned, the match should simply have ended at 4-0.

“I am ashamed of a small group of supporters who have spoiled it for the club and for a large part of the fans in the away section.”