While not the only ones to do this, we will see later that the Dutch were also quite fond of flag burning at international level as well as club. Enraged locals invaded the outnumbered visitor’s section and, side by side with police, ended-up beating many fleeing Tottenham fans as they ran to the exit tunnel, with several bodies disturbingly careering down the steep steps:Īs the dystopian scene settled down, one home fan with a confiscated Union Jack on a pole, left by an Englishman, channeled the spirit of Vietnam War protestors by setting it alight. With beer bottles raining back and forth before kick off between home fans and those in the poorly segregated away section, located high on the second tier, soon all order broke down and chaos reigned as running battles occurred on the terraces and in the tunnels.ĭuring half time, chairs were ripped up and thrown from Spurs fans to the section below, prompting announcements in English appealing for calm and informing the missile throwers that they were a disgrace to club and country. However, perhaps it is fair to say that the particularly British brand of crowd trouble that is mostly associated with hooliganism was first injected into Dutch culture on the night of the 1974 UEFA Cup final-2nd leg between Feyenoord and Tottenham Hotspur, in the ominous De Kuip ( The Tub), Rotterdam. But even before the 70s the “crazy” nature of a certain element of Dutch supporters was already revealing itself, as seen here via Ajax in the 1960s with pitch invasions, message two-sticks, and even pyro on the pitch. Over the next 25 years, the country would become one of the most violent in terms of football trouble – a stark contrast to the laid back and friendly culture that many tourists experience when visiting. Our first recorded instance (that we know of at least) takes place on the supposed night that hooliganism was introduced to Dutch football.
For a change of pace, rather than focus on a single match of interest this time we look at theme of fire, with the different aspects of it seen inside stadiums over the years and the varying levels of destruction.įeyenoord vs Tottenham, UEFA Cup final-2nd leg, 29/05/ 1974: fanzine exclusive articles that won’t be online for some time so a new installment was needed.
It hasn’t been long since the previous Football Special Report, but this was one of our Red Inc.
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