Ahmed Aboutaleb is done with the disturbances at Feyenoord. The mayor of Rotterdam announces ‘tough’ new measures that must be enforced. Aboutaleb states that the supporters are now in charge in De Kuip and believes that this should change soon.
Liveable Rotterdam said earlier this week that Feyenoord has been ‘afraid for years’ for its own supporters. This opinion is shared by Aboutaleb. “It also applies to more clubs in the Netherlands,” says the mayor in conversation with it General Journal. “But if you want to become lord and master of your stadium, you have to stick your neck out and dare to intervene. And where we can support Feyenoord in this, we will certainly do so.”
Aboutaleb says that the police will take stricter action this Thursday, during the Europa League match with AS Roma. “People now often stand in front of the firebreaks. I was very shocked by that big smoke cloud last week. If panic breaks out there, there is no fire exit available. I’m going to make strict demands on that now. It’s really over now that those stairs aren’t free. They have to know how Feyenoord does it themselves, but if necessary I will say: a match will not be started if the stairs are not free.”
Together with the organization of Feyenoord, Aboutaleb will look at various things, including the fireworks that are often set off in De Kuip. “We will look at that. And we are already starting today to prevent that. No, I’m not going to say how. There are all kinds of suspicions about how it is smuggled. We want to make a good scan of that. Where are those leaks? That’s because of the fences, but I also want to look at the buildings that are linked to the stadium.”