Ajax were forced to abandon their league match against Groningen on Sunday night after fans let off an inferno of pyrotechnics in the stands of the Johan Cruyff Arena.
The impromptu firework display began just five minutes into the Eredivisie clash and the explosions were such that both sets of players were stopped in their tracks.
The game was immediately suspended as players were led back down the tunnel.
The display was reportedly in honour of an Ajax fan who died last month, but the club reacted furiously after the game had been abandoned.
In a post on X, they wrote: ‘Ajax finds what happened in the stadium tonight utterly scandalous. We apologise to anyone who has been affected in any way by this incident. The safety of spectators and players has been compromised. This is unacceptable. We strongly condemn this misconduct. Fireworks have no place in the stadium.
‘Spectators in the affected section of the stadium were searched. Dogs were also used to detect fireworks, both in the stadium before it opened and as spectators entered. Other preventive measures were also taken. Despite this, we were unable to prevent this situation.
A huge explosion of fireworks behind one of the goals meant that play could not continue
Ajax players begin to walk off, with Davy Klaassen appearing to remonstrate with supporters
‘We will, of course, study the camera footage to try to track down the perpetrators and also investigate in other ways who is responsible for this. If this leads to the identification of the perpetrators, we will take appropriate measures.’
One angry Groningen fan posted: ‘Minimum here should be awarding Groningen a forfeit victory, plus a large enough points deduction to guarantee relegation, and requiring Ajax to play home games behind closed doors indefinitely and prohibiting Ajax fans from attending away games indefinitely.’
It has been a turbulent season for Netherlands’ most successful club. They have struggled at home, with two defeats and a draw in their past three Eredivisie matches in Amsterdam.
Manager John Heitinga was sacked following a disappointing 3-0 defeat by Galatasaray in the Champions League on November 5.
