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Soccer fans with fireworks at Feyenoord Rotterdam game
America got a taste of the passion that fans from other countries have for soccer when it hosted the World Cup, but the atmosphere at those games was pretty tame compared to places where people live and die with their teams. That includes the Netherlands, where one squad banned its own supporters from attending a couple of upcoming games after they assaulted opposing spectators with fireworks.
There isn’t a single sport that has a bigger following in Europe than soccer, a place where you’re generally born into a fandom and grow up rooting for a club whose successes and failures tend to be a major source of local pride and anguish.
It’s hard to appreciate just how seriously many people in those countries take soccer if you’ve never had the chance to be immersed in the culture or attend a game in person.
Those contests can be an eye-opening experience with the potential to put the atmosphere at a typical sporting event in the United States to shame, especially when the fans are filled with rabid supporters armed with massive banners, pyrotechnics, and a seemingly bottomless bag of songs and chants.
Some of those fans have a tendency to go a bit too far, and that was certainly the case with the ones who were cheering for a member of a team that competes at the highest level the Netherlands has to offer over the weekend.
Feyenoord banned its own fans from attending their next two away games after a firework display descended into chaos
As you can probably surmise by the name, Feyenoord Rotterdam plays in the second-biggest city in the Netherlands and has a history stretching back close to 120 years. The club has competed in the Eredivisie, the country’s top tier, since its inception, and it trails only Ajax and PSV for the overall titles with 16 (the most recent of which was secured in 2023).
The most recent season got underway toward the beginning of August, and Feyenoord is currently sitting in fourth place in the table at 2-1 following a 5-2 victory on the road over Cambuur on Sunday.
However, that victory was marred by what unfolded inside Kooi Stadion during the match, as play was suspended for more than 10 minutes in the first half after Feyenoord supporters sparked up a bunch of fireworks and proceeded to throw some of them at members of the home crowd (and in the direction of their own goalkeeper).
According to The Athletic, seven Cambuur supporters were treated for injuries (including burns and hearing loss) in the wake of the incident, and the two clubs have teamed up for an investigation in an attempt to track down the perpetrators who could be hit with criminal charges on top of a ban from De Kuip, the venue Feyenoord calls home.
It is also erring on the side of caution for the next two matches, as the club announced the away section will be empty when it goes on the road to face off against NEC Nijmegen on September 5th and PEC Zwolle on September 13th after banning froms from joining the team.
Feyenoord neemt de komende twee uitwedstrijden in de Eredivisie geen eigen supporters mee. De clubleiding heeft hiertoe besloten naar aanleiding van het veelbesproken en volslagen onacceptabele vuurwerkincident in Leeuwarden van afgelopen zondag. Dit betekent dat het team van… pic.twitter.com/FQcf09e9ja
— Feyenoord Rotterdam (@Feyenoord) August 26, 2026
Fans of both teams will be welcome for upcoming games at De Kuip, although I can’t blame any visitors who might have second thoughts about making the trek.