Black cup night at De Kuip – Te Kloese apologizes to Klaassen on behalf of Feyenoord

Slot: ‘Logical not to talk about soccer’

With Arne Slot’s reaction we close this liveblog. Unlike his Ajax colleague John Heitinga, the Feyenoord coach largely omits soccer analysis. “Logical not to talk about soccer,” Slot said.

Ajax presses charges against person who injured Klaassen

Ajax is pressing charges against the person who hit Davy Klaassen with probably a lighter during the KNVB Cup semi-final against Feyenoord. The police detained a 32-year-old man from Roelofarendsveen during the semi-final in De Kuip, which Ajax won 2-1. He allegedly threw an object from the stands that injured Klaassen’s head.

The man was taken to a police station, a spokesman for the Rotterdam police informed. “We are investigating what exactly happened and was thrown,” he said.

Feyenoord captain Kökçü contradicts insult by Tadic

Orkun Kökçü contradicts that he was insulted by Ajax captain Dusan Tadic during the riot in the Klassieker.

The Feyenoord captain did not initially realize that Davy Klaassen had been hit by a forehand from the crowd. “I had an uppercut with Tadic and at first I thought we had to go to the side because of that. But then I saw what had happened. This is really not possible. You really don’t wish this on anyone.”

Kökcü does not have a good word to say about the supporter who hit Klaassen. “It’s not normal when an opponent’s player cannot continue because of an action by a supporter,” Kökcü said. “This is really not possible.”

Te Kloese apologizes to Klaassen on behalf of Feyenoord

General manager Dennis te Kloese has apologized on behalf of Feyenoord to Davy Klaassen for the misbehavior of some spectators. The Ajax midfielder was thrown an object on the back of his head after an hour of play in the semifinals of the cup tournament, leading to a bleeding wound. The match was then halted for half an hour, but was eventually played out.

“The field is sacred, the players on it should always feel safe,” Te Kloese told ESPN, after personally apologizing to Klaassen. “We know the atmosphere off the field can be grim. But that should never come at the expense of a player. Apologies on our behalf to Klaassen are in order.”

Earlier this year, during the league match between Feyenoord and Ajax, tall nets hung around the entire pitch at De Kuip. On Wednesday that was not the case on one side of the field, so the TV cameras had a clear view. From that very side, an object was thrown at Klaassen’s head. “We thought after last time that it was now possible to remove part of the nets,” Te Kloese said. “But we see that this is therefore not possible.”

Manchester United wins again in Premier League

After three disappointing results, Manchester United wins another game in the Premier League. Coach Erik ten Hag’s formation defeated Brentford, 1-0, at their own Old Trafford. Newcastle United, which like Manchester is fighting for a place among the first four, was also successful. The club won the away match at West Ham United 1-5.

Marcus Rashford put Manchester United ahead after just under half an hour. The striker rounded after Marcel Sabitzer had laid the ball back. Wout Weghorst was on the bench. The Dutch striker had featured in the last 19 games at ManU since his debut against Crystal Palace on Jan. 18. Tyrell Malacia dropped in just before halftime.

Klaassen: ‘Hurt and was angry’

Davy Klaassen reacted to the heated Klassieker at De Kuip in front of ESPN’s camera. The midfielder was hit by an object from the crowd, after which the match was stopped for half an hour.

“I felt something, it hurt,” Klaassen said. “I was angry.”

Klaassen said he did not consider stopping playing. “I didn’t want to walk away. Then they have you. I won’t allow that.” After the resumption, Klaassen returned to the field, but after a few minutes he was substituted: “I had a throbbing feeling in my head and had trouble focusing. Then there’s no point in continuing.”

Minister Yeşilgöz shocked after incident at De Kuip

Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Yeşilgöz has expressed her horror at the events at De Kuip. The game was temporarily halted in the 62nd minute after Davy Klaassen was hit by an object from the crowd, suffering a head injury. The Ajax player was bleeding profusely.

“What a low point,” Yeşilgöz tweeted. “What a disgrace. If you attack or pelt a player you are not a supporter, but a huge lout who should be punished.”

‘Ajax must be persuaded to continue playing’

NOS reporter Joep Schreuder is in the catacombs of the Kuip and reports the following: “Ajax is furious and really needs to be persuaded to play on. There is busy consultation here now, everyone is shocked.”

“It is striking that on the side of the stadium from which the object was thrown there are no nets hanging because of the TV coverage. What’s going to happen now? How do you get 50,000 people out of here if you have to? The triangle (police, OM and local government) will be wondering that too.”

English media: Lampard returns as Chelsea coach

According to several English media outlets, Frank Lampard is returning as coach of Chelsea. The former club icon would finish the season, succeeding the recently fired Graham Potter.

The former international was previously Chelsea’s coach, but was also sent off after a good first season. He was replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who was also fired by Chelsea earlier this season. In the meantime, Lampard was active at Everton. There he was dismissed from his position in January. Tuchel is now working at Bayern Munich.

Stuttgart in semifinals of German cup tournament

VfB Stuttgart has reached the semifinals of Germany’s soccer cup competition. The club did so by winning at 1. FC Nürnberg, 0-1. Stuttgart is the number last of the Bundesliga, Nürnberg plays at the second level.

Frenchman Enzo Millot put Stuttgart ahead in the closing stages. Sebastian Hoeness made his debut as coach on the bench at Stuttgart. Earlier, SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt joined the last four. Freiburg caused a surprise by eliminating Bayern Munich. Later on Wednesday, Leipzig still plays at home against Borussia Dortmund.

Second Classic as coach for Heitinga

John Heitinga may become the 4th Ajax coach to lose his first two Klassiekers, after Hans Kraay sr. (1974/1975), Johan Cruijff (1985/1986) and Co Adriaanse (2000/2001). On March 19, Ajax went down 3-2 in the premier league at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

As a player, Heitinga won the cup 3 times with Ajax (2001/2002, 2005/2006 and 2006/2007), but only appeared in action in his last 2 finals.

Most cup finals? Ajax

Ajax is the record holder with 27 KNVB Cup finals played. Feyenoord can reach the final of the KNVB Cup for the 19th time (including 3 times before the introduction of professional soccer and including 2019/2020).

PSV, including this year’s final, stands at 19 finals. Feyenoord won the KNVB Cup 13 times, second only to Ajax (20) the most times in the tournament’s history (since 1899).

Ajax lineup: Bergwijn back in base

Steven Bergwijn returns to the Ajax starting lineup for the Klassieker. Coach John Heitinga is making one change compared to the last game with Go Ahead Eagles (0-0). Bergwijn’s comeback comes at the expense of Brian Brobbey. Bergwijn started Sunday on the bench because he only just recovered from a knee injury.

Youri Baas is again the left back and is preferred over Owen Wijndal and Calvin Bassey. Jorge Sánchez again replaces injured right back Devyne Rensch. Ajax’s midfield consists of Davy Klaassen, Kenneth Taylor and former Feyenoord player Steven Berghuis.