NEC will play its next two home games in its own empty Goffert stadium, the Nijmegen team announced through the official channels. The club has been unable to find a suitable venue for its home games on short notice. “We have no choice,” says general manager Wilco van Schaik.
It proved impossible for NEC to find another municipality willing to host the club’s matches, bearing in mind the riots that broke out around the derby against Vitesse (1-0 loss) on October 17. According to Van Schaik, this was not due to other clubs, which were willing to accommodate NEC, but to the mayors of other cities. For example, NEC saw its request rejected in Venlo, Doetinchem and Den Bosch.
NEC is doing everything it can to track down those who participated in the disturbances surrounding the Gelderland derby. “Last week we had a conversation with the quadrangle: the mayor, the Public Prosecution Service and the police,” says Van Schaik. “We are doing everything we can to track down crooks and to ban those people from our stadium for good, or at least for a long time. Because we now notice in the search for a new stadium that it plays a lot of tricks on us. “
Due to the decision, NEC has to play against FC Groningen on October 31 and against sc Heerenveen on November 6 without encouragement from the public. After the match against Vitesse, a stand in the Goffert Stadium collapsed under the weight of hustling away supporters. The grandstand largely remained suspended thanks to a metal container that happened to be underneath. As a result, all supporters were unharmed. It is not yet known what caused the stand to collapse. An external agency is investigating this.
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