Sunday, April 18, 2021 at 4:26 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 17:08

The police arrested 32 football supporters in Delft on Sunday afternoon who were looking for confrontation with each other, various media report. The arrests followed a few hours before the kick-off of the cup final in De Kuip between Ajax and Vitesse. It is not known whether it also concerns supporters of those two clubs or whether supporters from other clubs may have been involved. The local Newspaper 070 reports, however, that it concerns supporters groups of Ajax and Feyenoord that have come to blows. The confrontation took place close to the hotel from where Ajax left with the players’ bus to De Kuip.

Images circulating on the internet show at least some supporters wearing Ajax training pants. According to various media, it concerned a group of about two hundred to three hundred supporters who had a so-called ‘fight appointment’ with another group. This happened near IKEA in Delft. The images also show how IKEA employees get to safety, while in the background the group of supporters run through the streets. The police were soon informed of the appointment and managed to prevent a real confrontation.

Broadcaster West reports that the selection of Ajax would have spent the night in the adjacent West Cord hotel in the run-up to the cup final against Vitesse on Sunday evening. “Supposedly supporters of that club were present to see off the players’ bus”, a police spokesperson told the regional broadcaster. In addition to the 32 arrests, a large part of the group managed to escape in time and flee from the police. Meanwhile, peace has returned.

The police arrested 32 football supporters near the IKEA branch at Olof Palmestraat in Delft. pic.twitter.com/6morD7FWRY

– Football Ultras (@VoetbalUltras) April 18, 2021

Supporters of Ajax and Vitesse already went to De Kuip on Sunday morning to transform the stadium in their own club colors. The fans decorated the blue seats with white and red bags. Behind the goal you can read the letters ‘AJAX’. On the other side of the stadium, supporters of Vitesse have hung banners and it colors yellow and black. The Feyenoord banners that were visible in recent months have been removed. The final between Ajax and Vitesse starts tonight at 6 p.m.