Friday, November 5, 2021 at 10:42 am• Yanick Vos

NEC supporters will not return to their own stadium for the time being. The Goffert is unsafe, according to research by engineers from Royal Haskoning DHV. Throughout the stadium, shortcomings have been found in the lower parts of the stands. The company says in the report that a mistake was made in the armament of the stands during the construction of the stadium. At least until the winter break, supporters are not welcome in the stadium.

The investigation was carried out after part of the grandstand collapsed on October 17 after the match between NEC and Vitesse. The stands collapsed due to jumping Vitesse supporters. The findings were presented at a press conference on Friday morning. There appear to be cracks in the concrete of the stands. “All the lower elements of the stands do not meet the safety requirements and something needs to be done about that. The higher elements need further research”, engineer Erik Middelkoop of Haskoning is quoted by the General Newspaper.

There were a total of 93 jumping Vitesse fans in the part of the stand that collapsed last month. “As the grandstand was designed, it was suitable to carry this number of people, as long as they behaved calmly. The grandstand was made for jumping, but then the load must be lower. The combination of 93 jumping people was too much,” said Middelkoop. NEC director Wilco van Schaik: “Unfortunately, it appears that design errors have been identified in the construction of the stadium.” According to alderman Bert Velthuis of the municipality of Nijmegen, it will take ‘some time’ before it is clear which measures must be taken to be able to put the stadium back into use. Last weekend NEC played in an empty stadium and next Saturday against sc Heerenveen, no audience is welcome in the home port. Fans can follow the matches via screens around the stadium.

In recent weeks, NEC has looked at the possibilities of temporarily moving to another stadium. Van Schaik explained during the press moment on Friday that eight different clubs and municipalities have been spoken to. However, due to the fan riots surrounding the derby against Vitesse, NEC is not wanted by any club or municipality. “We will continue to look for alternative options for our home games. Until the winter break, fans will not be playing in De Goffert. In the best conceivable scenario, we can allow spectators again in January. There is also only a bad scenario. With several design errors we are further from home,” says Van Schaik.