Dutch ‘Klassieker’ called off because of planned police strike

AMSTERDAM: Sunday’s (Aug 31) Dutch league clash between archrivals Feyenoord Rotterdam and Ajax Amsterdam has been forbidden by the Rotterdam municipality because of a planned strike by police.
Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said the decision had been taken on Tuesday after police said they would not work at the high-profile game, known in the Netherlands as the “Klassieker”.
“The safety of the players, but also of the public, cannot be sufficiently guaranteed without the use of the police,” he said.
The police union announced on Tuesday it would have no members at the stadium as part of a campaign to force an agreement with the government on early retirement regulations.
Usually, only home fans are allowed into the De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam for the clash with Ajax supporters, a measure in place for several seasons after crowd violence.
Even with only home supporters, last September’s clash between the two clubs in Rotterdam was halted when fireworks were thrown onto the pitch. When the game was subsequently abandoned, rioting broke out in which 15 people were arrested and two police officers wounded.
The Dutch football association (KNVB) is warning there could be fixture chaos if police use football as a forum to make their case on labour issues.
“Football is now being used as a means and that says a lot about the impact of football. But of course that is not what football is meant for,” the KNVB said in a statement.
“Football has been used more often by the police unions to campaign over the years. If the current actions by the unions continue, matches will have to be rescheduled later, the number of available dates for this is very limited.”
Both clubs also expressed their disappointment.
Dutch police have been campaigning for better early retirement conditions since May, by issuing fewer fines, closing police stations to the public and organising noisy protests with their sirens.