The derby between Feyenoord and Ajax had to be stopped on Wednesday night after former Premier League star Davy Klaassen was injured by an object thrown from the stands.
The KNVB Cup semi-final between the Dutch rivals was initially delayed by five minutes due to the sheer number of fireworks that were set off by the Feyenoord supporters. Once the smoke had cleared, the match – known as De Klassieker – began with Dusan Tadic giving the away side the lead after 14 minutes.
Feyenoord equalised through Santiago Gimenez on the stroke of half-time in a feisty game which descended into farcical chaos after the break. Klaassen put Ajax back in front in the 51st minute before his celebrations were ruined by the actions of a home fan.
Klaassen celebrated by the corner flag with a knee slide before being engulfed by his team-mates. But, in worrying scenes, an object came flying from the stands and struck the former Everton forward on the back of the head.
The object caused a deep cut on Klaassen’s head which immediately began to seep out blood. The referee soon took the players off the pitch and down the tunnel due to safety fears.
After a 28-minute break, in which both sides discussed whether they could resume play, the Feyenoord assistant manager took the unusual step of addressing the fans directly. Given a microphone, John de Wolf pointed to the section of the crowd where the object had been thrown from and gave a warning.
"Fans at that side use your brain, Goddamnit!” he was quoted as saying in Dutch. “Make sure nothing is being thrown on the pitch again." His words were met with a smattering of applause and cheers from the fans, who wanted the game to continue.
Police later confirmed that a 32-year-old man had been arrested and that an investigation had been launched.
The match was able to resume, but Klaassen went down holding his head after less than a minute. He was assessed by the Ajax medical staff and was then substituted for Brian Brobbey as the game continued.
Ajax held on to win the game 2-1 and progress into the final despite Kenneth Taylor being sent off six minutes into the eight minutes of added time at the end of the game.
Feyenoord and Ajax have a huge rivalry between the two clubs, based in Rotterdam and Amsterdam respectively. Feyenoord are currently eight points clear of their rivals at the top of the Eredivisie table, putting even more pressure on the cup semi-final.
