AZ supporters storm main stand, where many family West Ham players sit

In the stands were friends and relatives of West Ham players. Those rushed to the stands to intervene. Players of AZ and trainer Pascal Jansen and director Robert Eenhoorn also tried to get between them.

These are images of the storming:

The incident happened immediately after the match ended. AZ lost 1-0 and therefore missed out on the final. The fans were behind the AZ goal, broke through a fence and sought confrontation.

AZ players Tijjani Reijnders and Pantelis Hatzidiakos react to the misbehavior of some supporters:

It was not the first time this season that things went wrong in a Dutch stadium. “It’s annoying, it doesn’t belong in our stadium. Preferably not in any stadium,” AZ coach Pascal Jansen expressed his disgust at the riots. “I feel shame. People will have experienced anxious moments. You still have to control your emotions, even on a night of defeat.”

Police and stewards were on the scene fairly quickly to prevent further escalation. After about ten minutes, calm returned to the stadium. Other AZ supporters showed their dissatisfaction with the misbehavior of some of their own supporters with whistles.

Last week AZ lost the away match in London 2-1. Relatives of players and members of the AZ technical staff were then besieged in the first half when they cheered at the AZ goal.

Earlier in the day, supporters of AZ and West Ham had clashed in the center of Alkmaar. On the Stationsstraat it came to a confrontation.

Supporter violence in the Netherlands is difficult to control. Why doesn’t this Dutch approach seem to work? We explain in this video.