AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A second Dutch league match involving Ajax Amsterdam has been called off because of threatened strike action by police in the Netherlands, the club said on Monday.
Sunday’s Eredivisie match between Ajax and Utrecht in the Johan Cruyff Arena will not take place because of safety concerns, city authorities decided on Monday.
“The safety of the players, supporters and public order in the city cannot be guaranteed without the important efforts of the police”, the Amsterdam municipality said.
The option of playing behind close doors had also been discussed. “But even then, the risk of unrest and unsafe situations is too great and irresponsible to take without possible police deployment,” the statement from the city added.
Ajax said they were disappointed, because they felt match could also have gone ahead without the police “with additional measures and good agreements between both clubs and supporters”.
Ajax’s Dutch ‘Klassieker’ away at Feyenoord Rotterdam on Sept. 1 was forbidden by the Rotterdam municipality because of a planned police strike.
Dutch police have been campaigning for better early retirement conditions since May, by issuing fewer fines, closing police stations to the public and organising noisy protests with their sirens.
They announced that there would be no police presence at Ajax-Utrecht match, which last season featured clashes between rival supporters.
The police union said that the strikes would continue if there was insufficient prospect of a breakthrough in the dispute about early retirement.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town)
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