FC Den Haag is only allowed to play with a permit

FC Den Haag must also have a permit from the municipality of The Hague for playing home games in the Bingoal Stadium in the coming years.

“With the introduction of a permit requirement for professional football matches, the mayor has an additional instrument to act against disturbances,” the municipality said. The Hague intends to adjust the APV – the municipal rules – so that a permit requirement will become the standard for FCDH.

With this permit requirement, the municipality can ‘set clear requirements in advance, monitor these and take action against non-compliance with the permit conditions’. Without a permit or non-compliance with those conditions, the city council can put a line through competitions.

First none, later phased public

This duty does not come out of the blue. This season (2022/2023), the current number twelve of the Kitchen Champion Division already had to apply for such a permit as a trial. This had to do with disturbances in the final of the play-offs for promotion to the Eredivisie on May 29 last year, against Excelsior. The residents of The Hague were leading 3-0 and seemed to be preparing for a party, but the team from Rotterdam turned the backlog and won on penalties.

Supporters then ran onto the field, pelted Excelsior fans in the away section and sought confrontation with the Mobile Unit, also outside the stadium, by throwing stones and fireworks. They also attacked a police horse with a pole.

As a result of the disturbances, FCDH was not allowed to admit an audience in the new current season, and later on in phases. That was not always to the liking of FCDH. “It is not the relaxations as hoped”, the club stated, for example, at the end of September, when FCDH was allowed to admit supporters to the Lex Schoenmaker stand again. Nevertheless, the municipality speaks of good cooperation with the security organization of FCDH. “It was close, there was intensive contact every week.”

Report every home game

At the time, FCDH had to apply for a permit for each home match. This is no longer necessary next season: the permit is issued per half of the season or per season. However, FCDH must from now on draw up a safety plan showing that sufficient measures are being taken to maintain order and safety. The club must also report all home matches, including Jong FCDH, to the city council thirty days before the match day. Together with the police, this will then determine whether additional measures are necessary.

The club has already taken a lot of measures. For example, the number of stewards has increased almost fivefold, the chant detection system is returning and the club wants to know the identity of all supporters in the stadium. He catches up with the club with a control system through the banks.

Every mayor wants duty

For FCDH – again first divisionist next season – not much will change with the duty, a spokesman for the club said. ,,Since the duty is already in force this season. In good consultation with all authorities, the club has delivered tailor-made solutions this season to comply with the permit requirement for all home games and that will also be the case next season.”

If it is up to mayors of Dutch football municipalities, there will be such a permit requirement for all clubs. For example, he supervises proper searches and rules regarding ticket sales and public viewing. At the beginning of this year, these mayors wrote a letter about this to the Ministry of Security and Justice. Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz said that each mayor should decide for himself whether such a duty will be introduced. Whether there are clubs and municipalities that follow the example of FCDH is not known to the KNVB football association. “We don’t have an overview of municipalities here.”

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