Sparta continues with ten men after Auassar red – Match halted after misbehavior of supporters

SPA-UTR | 50′ Players in.

A lot is happening in Rotterdam, though. Sparta’s free kick was still standing, with Van Crooij shooting at the post. In the rebound the ball hits the bar via Lauritsen. Utrecht-keeper Barkas then gets a punch after which he falls to the ground and the Sparta-supporters pelt him and referee Kooij.

SPA-UTR | 49′ RED CARD SPARTA!

A free kick for Utrecht, but the action is seen in the wall. Sparta captain Adil Auassar gives Sean Klaiber an elbow. Referee Joey Kooij first still gives a yellow card, but after the intervention of VAR he has to conclude that it should be red.

SPA-UTR | 46′ Second half

The ball is rolling again in Rotterdam. Both teams came out of the locker rooms unchanged.

Unrest at FC Volendam increases: Molenaar files report against rvc member

Keje Molenaar has resigned as advisor to FC Volendam. The former player and lawyer is also pressing charges against Supervisory Board member Elma de Koekkoek for libel and slander.

Molenaar is outraged because De Koekkoek has called him “lacking in integrity.” “Any substantiation of this particularly damaging statement you have omitted,” Molenaar writes in a letter accessed by De Telegraaf. “With this qualification you touch, among other things, the core of my profession as a lawyer which I have practiced for more than 33 years and you apparently knowingly violate my honor and good name as a person and lawyer.”

An unedifying first half comes to an end. Still 0-0 at the Castle.

SPA-UTR | 35′ Chances scarce

The game mainly takes place in Utrecht’s half, but Sparta does not really manage to become dangerous. Utrecht lurks on a breakout, but that does not really come to the fore. Not really surprising that it is still 0-0.

SPA-UTR | 15′ First test for Olij

After a messy opening phase, in which the most important moment was a head injury to Luuk Brouwers, there is the first chance of the match. Utrecht top scorer Douvikas shoots hard at the Sparta goalkeeper from the right side of the sixteen.

Round 23 of play is underway!

SPA-UTR | Toornstra back at Utrecht

Jens Toornstra is back from his suspension. Utrecht did not win any of its 6 premier league matches this season without the routinier (W0-G3-V3). With Toornstra, the balance is W9-G4-V3. Mike van der Hoorn will play his 100th official game for FC Utrecht. He made his professional debut for Utrecht in May 2011, when he replaced Mark van der Maarel in a 5-1 win over AZ in the Eredivisie.

SPA-UTR | Some facts in a row

– Utrecht won 12 of the 42 duels at Het Kasteel. The points stayed in Rotterdam twice as often. The visitors won 5 of the last 6 times, last season 0-3 (Douvikas, Mahi and Coremans with an own goal).

– In Utrecht, with coach Fraser against his old club, it was 3-1 this season.

– After 10 unbeaten duels, Sparta lost at Ajax. At fellow sub-topper Utrecht, Bozdogan is absent due to injury.

– Viergever (FC Utrecht) made his Eredivisie debut at Sparta in 2009.

Mané back in selection Bayern Munich after serious injury

Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann will have the recovered Sadio Mané back at his disposal Sunday. The Senegalese striker is included in the frontrunner’s selection for the home game with 1. FC Union Berlin and may make minutes as a substitute.

“Sadio is there, but he can’t start yet,” Nagelsmann explained two days before the match against the team that eliminated Ajax in Europe on Thursday. “He trained with the group for two and a half sessions. He gives us more options and we are happy with that.”

Mané suffered a leg injury in November and also missed the World Cup in Qatar as a result. He has played 14 league games to date and scored six goals.

Nagelsmann could make good use of Mané. Bayern won only two of six league games since the turn of the year. The team is still leading on goal difference, but Borussia Dortmund and Union Berlin meanwhile have as many points.

Van Nistelrooij hopes to have El Ghazi back in it against Twente

Anwar El Ghazi may make his return to the PSV matchday squad on Sunday against FC Twente. The striker suffered a muscle injury just under three weeks ago in the away match against Feyenoord (2-2) and has almost recovered.

“El Ghazi is slowly returning to team training. We will see if Sunday is feasible for him. If not, he will return on Thursday in the quarterfinal of the cup against ADO Den Haag,” coach Ruud van Nistelrooij said.

He can have Ibrahim Sangaré at his disposal again against Twente. The Ivorian was ill last week and did not return to action in Thursday’s Europa League match against Sevilla (2-0). “Sangaré is getting fitter, he trained well today,” he said.

El Ghazi’s possible return is not insignificant for PSV. Thorgan Hazard, another outfield player, suffered a muscle injury a week ago and will not play for the time being.

Noppert not back at sc Heerenveen for now

Goalkeeper Andries Noppert will not return to the pitch at sc Heerenveen for the time being. Coach Kees van Wonderen said so a day before the home game with RKC Waalwijk.

Exactly how long Noppert will be sidelined is not clear, according to Van Wonderen. The Dutch national was last under the crossbar at the end of January. Since then he has been struggling with an abdominal and groin injury.

“He does feel by now that things are going in the right direction,” Van Wonderen said of the goalkeeper’s injury. “But top sport is dealing with adversity. We told him he has to have a certain rest, because it’s not going any faster. You shouldn’t get frustrated, but accept it.”

On Saturday night, in the match against RKC Waalwijk, Xavier Mous will be under the crossbar at Heerenveen. Van Wonderen’s team is currently in eighth place in the Eredivisie. RKC Waalwijk is in ninth place.

KNVB appoints former coach Berger as technical advisor

The KNVB has appointed Han Berger as technical adviser. The 72-year-old former coach has been a member of the Football Association’s Supervisory Board for the last six years, where he was responsible for the ‘soccer technical affairs’ portfolio.

Berger, who will become an advisor on a part-time basis, will “contribute his expertise and experience to the development of the national youth teams and play a role in the Academy,” reports the KNVB.

He will also remain a sounding board for director of top soccer Nigel de Jong, a role he has held since De Jong’s recent appointment.

Berger’s past coaching roles include AZ, FC Groningen, FC Utrecht and Sparta. He also served as technical director at the Australian National Association and Sydney FC.

‘Wasn’t a light at the end of the tunnel’

Joshua Brenet is back at FC Twente at the level that made it to the Dutch national team in 2016.

The right winger left PSV for German side Hoffenheim in 2018, but after a good start he experienced a tough period in Germany.

“I experienced a period of almost two years when you hardly play or are not even in the selection,” Brenet explained. “Or that at training you were only allowed to take part in a pass or position practice, after which the training was over for you again, then you no longer felt like a footballer. It really seemed like there was no more light at the end of the tunnel.”

At the last minute of the 2022 winter transfer window, he was picked up by FC Twente. “That came like a gift from heaven, it couldn’t be any better. I get all my joy and energy from that now. I have regained and reclaimed myself. The pleasure and love for the game: I have found everything again at FC Twente. And I notice that during the matches.”

In addition to Brenet, Lars Unnerstall, Michal Sadilek and Vaclav Cerny have also blossomed in Enschede. Where did that come from?

“It’s a piece of freedom you have here as players. It’s easy to say of course, but at the other clubs the pressure is higher,” Brenet believes.

“At Twente you are allowed to dream and you can have ambitions, but in my case at PSV, there it was a matter of course that you had to finish in the top two. At FC Twente you are ‘allowed’ to have that ambition. Because of that, I think a lot of guys play a lot more freely here.”

And Brenet may show that freedom again next Sunday, when he visits PSV with FC Twente, where he made his debut in professional soccer.

United possibly without Rashford in League Cup final

Manchester United may have to do without Marcus Rashford in Sunday’s League Cup final. The striker, who has been on fine form in recent weeks, was substituted just before time on Thursday night against FC Barcelona due to injury.

“We have to wait and see before we can establish it with 100 percent certainty,” Ten Hag said. Rashford, who is on 14 goals in the Premier League, posted a photo of himself on social media showing him stumbling off the pitch. United eventually won 2-1 over the Spanish top club and qualified for the Europa League’s eighth finals.

According to Ten Hag, Anthony Martial is definitely not available for the final match against Newcastle United. United can grab its first prize in six years on Sunday. In 2017, the club won the League Cup and the Europa League.

Sunday’s League Cup final begins at 5:30 p.m. and will be played at Wembley.

Jansen: ‘Lazio is solid opponent’

Pascal Jansen says he is looking forward to AZ’s clashes with Lazio in the Conference League. “It’s a solid opponent, although I don’t know if it was the toughest opponent,” said the Alkmaar coach.

“But it’s a nice draw. I’m looking forward to it. I remember that Feyenoord had a very difficult time there,” Jansen is referring to the Rotterdammers’ Europa League group matches with Lazio earlier this season.

Feyenoord lost 4-2 in Rome and later won 1-0 at home. The latter result was then enough for the current premier league leader to secure the group win.

Lock: ‘Timber out for between two and four months’

Feyenoord coach Arne Slot reckons he will lose Quinten Timber for the rest of the season. “He is still in the hospital today for an MRI to determine exactly how long it will take,” Slot said at the press conference in preparation for Sunday’s game with Fortuna Sittard.

The midfielder is suffering from a knee injury. “But he will be out for months. Between two and four months. For him it’s incredibly annoying. It was an unfortunate collision last Wednesday.”

With Timber missing again, Feyenoord is again tight in defensive midfielders. Mats Wieffer and Orkun Kökcü are the other two options.

“With one of the three out for a long time, you shouldn’t think about one of the other two having a slight injury,” Slot said. “If you are out for two weeks, you can already miss five games. That would be very annoying. But that is offset by the return of Trauner.”

The central defender was also injured during the winter break and did not play a minute in 2023. Whether Trauner will be on the bench Sunday remains to be seen. “Trauner was supposed to train this week, but was sick for two days. Tomorrow again we will discuss whether he feels free enough and fit enough to be with the selection.”

PSV condemns incident field striker: ‘Hoping for mandatory reporting’

General manager Marcel Brands says he is deeply ashamed of Thursday night’s incident with the field stormer. “This is PSV unworthy and we are deeply ashamed of it,” Brands said in a statement.

“We are going to discuss with the relevant authorities how we can better enforce stadium bans, hopefully through a reporting obligation,” the director said.

PSV further said it is awaiting the police’s investigation into the field stormer “and will recover any possible financial damages from him.”

The prosecution reports that the man involved is a 20-year-old man from Roermond.

He was arrested shortly after the incident and the man will be arraigned on Monday before the examining magistrate. In 2021 and 2022, the suspect already received two community service sentences for “football-related” misconduct.

Is Van Seumeren’s patience running out in Utrecht?

Frans van Seumeren had secretly hoped to be a bit further with FC Utrecht than where the club is now.

Seventh place in the premier league is not what the ambitious financier – he has already put at least 40 million euros into the club since his entrance in 2008 – has in mind There is still a gap to bridge with the top four.

We are a bit stagnant, I think. Last season we finished seventh, but the six years before that we always finished in the top six,” said the owner.

“I think it’s actually taking too long before we end up in that top five with Utrecht. Because ultimately that is the club’s dream. And of the supporters. Utrecht is the fourth city of the Netherlands; we have to occupy that spot.”

Read the whole story with Van Seumeren below:

Feyenoord draw Shachtar Donetsk

Feyenoord will take on Shachtar Donetsk in the Europa League eighth finals. That was determined by the draw Friday in Nyon, Switzerland.

The Rotterdammers did not qualify as group winners in the Europa League intermediate round. Shachtar Donetsk reached the eighth finals by eliminating French Stade Rennes after penalty kicks.

The away games are on Thursday, March 9, and the returns follow a week later on March 16. The final is on May 31 in Budapest, Hungary.