A HUGE firework display erupted in the stands and forced Ajax’s game against FC Groningen to be abandoned.
The Dutch giants hosted the Green-White Army at the Johan Cruyff Arena, only for it to be stopped just minutes after kick-off.
Groningen were on the ball in the 5th minute when fireworks started to explode above the stand behind the Ajax goal.
Players stopped in their tracks and immediately headed away from the enormous display.
TV cameras caught the display that erupted above the fans, which was reportedly in honour of an Ultra who had died.
The game was initially suspended as players were escorted back down the tunnel.
PITCH PROBLEMS
Swedish football match descends into chaos with pitch set on fire
BEAUTY
Win a 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan + £2,000 cash or £33k cash from just 21p with our code
The fireworks continued to go off without any players on the pitch for well over a minute.
During the pause in play the cameras continued to show the display and panned around the stadium.
One fan was spotted hilariously sticking his fingers in his ears to try and block out the noise of the pyrotechnics.
However, the referee then made the decision to completely abandon the match.
This was because he could not guarantee the safety of the players.
Ajax confirmed the abandonment of the match with a brief statement on their blog.
It read: “The match has been definitively abandoned. Ajax – FC Groningen will not be resumed.”
A longer statement was eventually released by the club that hit out at the display.
The club insisted that it would be taking steps to identify the people who were responsible.
It read: “Ajax finds what happened in the stadium tonight utterly scandalous.
“We apologise to everyone affected in any way. The safety of spectators and players has been jeopardised.
“This is unacceptable. We emphatically distance ourselves from this misconduct. Fireworks have no place in the stadium.
“Spectators in the affected section of the stadium were frisked.
“Dogs were also deployed to detect fireworks, both inside the stadium before it opened and as spectators entered.
“Other preventative measures were also implemented. Despite this, we were unable to prevent this situation.
“We will, of course, review the camera footage to try to identify the perpetrators and investigate in other ways who is responsible.
“If this leads to the identification of perpetrators, we will take appropriate action.”
It is not the only match this weekend to have descended into chaos.
A PITCH in Sweden caught on fire after fans threw fireworks onto it.
Read the full article here
