Dutch professional football announces additional measures in response to ‘the unacceptable behavior of a (small) group of visitors in and around the stadium’. The professional clubs, the Eredivisie, the Kitchen Champion Division, the Supporters Collective and the KNVB formed a working group this week and came up with five measures to combat misconduct by supporters in Dutch stadiums.
The same parties already issued a statement on Monday evening, calling for an end to the misconduct and announcing action. “The parties below believe that the recent series of abuses must stop immediately. In the coming days, they will therefore discuss how we can turn the tide together,” announced the professional clubs, the Eredivisie, the Kitchen Champion Division, the Supporters Collective and the KNVB. They have worked with a working group to look for measures. Five measures are now being announced:
– When continuously throwing objects and/or liquids onto the field, warnings from the stadium speaker always follow. If the throwing does not stop, the game will be stopped and the catering at the relevant sections will be closed.
– People are always registered with the KNVB for a national stadium ban when throwing objects and/or liquids, offensive chants, violence against persons and/or goods and wearing face coverings. A stadium ban from twelve months is always accompanied by a fine.
– An away card obligation is set for all away supporters. In any case, until the end of this calendar year, there is a registration obligation for all supporters in the visitors’ section. This means that ticket sales are realized at the competition organization in such a way that it is not possible for supporters of the visiting club to obtain tickets other than via the Away Card.
– Any chant that is offensive to an individual or group is unacceptable. It is up to the clubs to always and immediately act against this according to the step-by-step plan for combating verbal abuse.
– Professional football focuses on the person-oriented approach within the current measures: the good must not suffer or otherwise suffer as little as possible from the bad. We want to continue to work for that. If there is no reduction in incidents, we will enter the final phase where increasing penalties, banning (away) supporters and stopping or even suspending matches even faster will become possible. We want to do everything we can to not end up in this phase.