Dutch Police Use Tear Gas to Disperse Rioters after Ajax v Feyenoord Suspended

Supporters protect themselves as police uses tear gas to disperse supporters after the Dutch Eredivisie football match between Ajax Amsterdam and Feyenoord was ended following fireworks thrown on the field at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam on September 24, 2023. (Photo by Olaf Kraak / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT
Supporters protect themselves as police uses tear gas to disperse supporters after the Dutch Eredivisie football match between Ajax Amsterdam and Feyenoord was ended following fireworks thrown on the field at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam on September 24, 2023. (Photo by Olaf Kraak / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT
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Dutch Police Use Tear Gas to Disperse Rioters after Ajax v Feyenoord Suspended

Supporters protect themselves as police uses tear gas to disperse supporters after the Dutch Eredivisie football match between Ajax Amsterdam and Feyenoord was ended following fireworks thrown on the field at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam on September 24, 2023. (Photo by Olaf Kraak / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT
Supporters protect themselves as police uses tear gas to disperse supporters after the Dutch Eredivisie football match between Ajax Amsterdam and Feyenoord was ended following fireworks thrown on the field at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam on September 24, 2023. (Photo by Olaf Kraak / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT

Ajax Amsterdam's home Eredivisie game against defending champions Feyenoord was suspended on Sunday as fans threw flares onto the pitch, and mounted police used tear gas to disperse rioting fans outside the stadium.

A group of angry Ajax fans tried to force their way into the Arena stadium after the game was halted, leading the police to disperse them with tear gas, Amsterdam police wrote on social media platform X.

"After the stopped game supporters broke into the main (stadium) entrance. Order has since been restored," Reuters quoted the police as saying.

"It is a jet black day, this makes it even worse," Ajax coach Maurice Steijn told broadcaster NOS.

Ajax were 3-0 down in the second half when the game was suspended.

Ajax, who have had a poor start to the season with just one win, sit 13th in the 18-team league and they conceded all three goals in the first half.

When flares were thrown onto the pitch for a second time, with many landing near the goal, the referee stopped the match and directed the players down the tunnel.

Fans paid no heed as the club displayed the message "Lighting of fireworks is prohibited" on the big screen at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

"De Klassieker has been permanently suspended after repeated fireworks on the field," Eredivisie said in a statement.

"More information on playing out this game will follow later."

Ajax finished third last season and failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 13 seasons. They had finished champions seven times and runners-up another five over the previous 12 seasons.



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.