Feyenoord Fans Turn SC Cambuur Stadium into War Zone
Valentijn Driessen has delivered a scathing verdict on the Feyenoord fans who turned SC Cambuur’s stadium into a war zone of fireworks on Sunday. The long-time De Telegraaf football editor says he has had enough. As far as he is concerned, it is time to shut the door on away supporters altogether.
Match halted, injuries mounting
The trouble in Leeuwarden started early. After just 12 minutes, the referee stopped the match when a barrage of fireworks exploded from the away end in the South Stand. What initially looked like another grim but familiar episode of pyrotechnics in Dutch football quickly escalated into something far more serious.
Cambuur later revealed that the chaos did not stop with that first wave. Fireworks were launched towards the pitch and into neighbouring stands, creating panic and sending supporters scrambling for safety.
Only after the smoke cleared did the full scale of the damage emerge. In an official statement, Cambuur confirmed that five supporters were injured and are “not doing well”. The club reported burns, hearing damage and eye injuries among those affected.
“It goes without saying that all care and attention are focused on these injured supporters and everyone at the club is enormously sympathetic,” Cambuur wrote.
‘They are simply criminals’
For Driessen, the line was crossed long ago. This incident only hardens his stance.
“They are simply criminals, of course,” he said of the Feyenoord fans responsible. “It was an organised action. I happened to have contact with someone, and he said it was for fun. If this is what you get your pleasure from, you’re not right in the head.”
The veteran journalist has long argued that Dutch football is too soft on this kind of behaviour. Sunday’s scenes, he believes, underline that the current approach has failed.
He wants the KNVB to finally act with real force.
“I argue for it every time: stop with away supporters. Then you get rid of a whole lot of trouble,” Driessen insisted. “Feyenoord v Ajax is played on a Saturday evening. And that is possible, because there are no Ajax supporters. Lovely, isn’t it?”
In his view, the classic Dutch football atmosphere cannot be used as an excuse anymore when people are leaving stadiums with burns and damaged hearing.
How did all that get in?
One question in particular leaves Driessen stunned: how did so many fireworks and flares make it into the Cambuur stadium in the first place?
Security checks are supposed to be tight for high-risk fixtures. Yet the away end in Leeuwarden looked more like a stockpile than a stand.
“If you then clear the place out, you might be bringing all sorts of misery on yourself,” he said, referring to the dilemma authorities face once trouble flares up. “The mayor will naturally have taken that into consideration. Because it would have been very normal to clear out that section.”
The suggestion is clear: local authorities and match organisers were forced into a grim calculation between immediate escalation and long-term order. The result was a match interrupted, a stadium shaken, and several fans in hospital.
Feyenoord under pressure to identify culprits
Attention now turns to Feyenoord’s own responsibilities. Driessen believes the club can no longer hide behind the usual lines about a small minority ruining it for the rest.
“I think Feyenoord really need to look carefully at who was there,” he said. “Normally speaking that is not a problem, because you have gold club card holders or something like that.”
This time, though, the away end told a different story.
“This away end was absolutely packed. So I think a great many slipped through the net. Those were the troublemakers responsible for those horrific scenes,” Driessen concluded.
The images from Leeuwarden will linger: a match stopped after 12 minutes, terrified supporters, and a club statement detailing burns and eye injuries. The debate Driessen is forcing now is blunt and unavoidable: if this is the price of away support, how much longer will Dutch football be willing to pay it?
