FC Twente urgently calls on its supporters to behave in De Grolsch Veste. Home games of NAC Breda and FC Groningen were recently stopped permanently due to the throwing of drinking cups with contents on the field. A similar incident also happened in the injury time of the game between Twente and Sparta Rotterdam (3-3), however, referee Joey Kooij decided not to stop the competition after objects were thrown from the stands towards Shurandy Sambo.
In injury time, Sambo shot the 3-3 against the ropes in De Grolsch Veste last Sunday. He celebrated by challenging the audience. Some fans reacted by throwing beer cups and other objects on the field, but Kooij did not stop the game. General director Paul van der Kraan discusses the incident in a newsletter on the club site. “Last weekend, attention in the Eredivisie was not only focused on the sporting results, but unfortunately also on temporarily or permanently suspended matches. Fortunately, we were spared the latter, but afterwards there was much to talk about on this subject.”
With the new measures announced by the KNVB, football supporters now know how great the consequences can be. For example, duels of NAC and Groningen were definitively stopped. “We don’t feel like pointing the correct finger after every game, but a change of mentality is needed,” writes Van der Kraan. “Stopping matches ruins the fun of football. And what should certainly not be underestimated is that this development is financially unsustainable for clubs due to possible compensation that must be paid to supporters and sponsors. What we have together in De Grolsch Veste is great, let’s cherish that.”
Following incidents during the FC Twente – Feyenoord competition match, which was played on January 29, the Tukkers have received a settlement proposal from the KNVB. Twente has been fined 10,000 euros for setting off fireworks and throwing drinking cups with contents. The club is also given a suspended sentence, with two years’ probation, for playing a home game without part of the public believed to be responsible for the incidents.