Lighter thrower Feyenoord-Ajax gets area ban for all soccer stadiums

The man who threw a lighter at Ajax midfielder Davy Klaassen at De Kuip on Wednesday night has been banned from all stadiums in the Netherlands. He is not allowed to enter the stadium from two hours before a match in professional soccer. The ban applies until two hours after the soccer match.

The Feyenoord supporter must later answer to the police judge for his action. He may await his trial at liberty, the justice department said. The 32-year-old Feyenoord supporter is suspected of assault.

Ajax player Davy Klaassen got a lighter thrown against the back of his head during the match against Feyenoord on Wednesday. He bled profusely, after which both teams left the field. The match was stopped for half an hour, but then resumed. Based on camera images, the police had in the meantime arrested the 32-year-old suspect.

Many supporters, the police and other agencies have expressed their disgust at the incident during De Klassieker, which Ajax eventually won 2-1. Rotterdam Mayor Aboutaleb spoke of “the bankruptcy of soccer,” Justice and Security Minister Yeşilgöz called the incident “a low point.”

According to the Justice Department, the man who threw the lighter is now under serious (online) threat. His surroundings also reportedly face threats.

The prosecution says it is actively monitoring the threats. “That this incident arouses strong emotions is a fact, but we point out that threatening individuals or acting as your own judge is a criminal offense.”

The Union Against Swearing is reeling over the language used by Feyenoord assistant coach John de Wolf. “Use your mind, goddamn it,” he said among other things as he addressed supporters after the incident.

A needless and hurtful curse, the Union Against Swearing believes. According to director Kees van Dijk, Klaassen suffered a bleeding head wound, but many Christians “figuratively got a bleeding heart.”

Van Dijk points out that Christians are currently dwelling on Silent Week, which commemorates the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. “Which ends in the miracle that God wants to reconcile with us,” says the union’s executive director. “How mind-boggling is it that The Wolf asks in front of the whole world if God wants to damn us?”