Even before the kick-off of VfB Stuttgart’s Europa League game against the Go Ahead Eagles in Deventer, Netherlands (9 p.m.), some of the Stuttgart fans started their return journey. As VfB announced, the authorities had imposed a ban on the occupants of three fan buses from entering the city because fans had allegedly behaved aggressively at the meeting point. However, VfB officials on site did not notice any such behavior from the fans.
Wehrle is pushing for “complete reappraisal”
Other VfB fans who had already arrived in Deventer expressed their solidarity with the occupants of the affected buses and also began their journey back to Stuttgart.
“I was there the entire time at the fans’ meeting point and was able to get an idea of the conditions. The local authorities banned some of our fans from entering the stadium for reasons that we couldn’t understand at all,” said Stuttgart’s CEO Alexander Wehrle. “We are in close contact with the authorities and UEFA and are pushing for a complete investigation into the events. This disproportionate approach endangers our football culture.”
Video images show the use of batons
Video images from the Dutch media showed how the police forced fans who had traveled to get back on their buses and make the return journey. There had previously been clashes with the police at the fans’ meeting point when the buses arrived. Video images showed riot police hitting fans on the buses with batons.
According to Dutch media reports, officials wanted to move fans towards the fan zone. There, as can be seen in other pictures, the fans tore down barriers and there was a confrontation with the officials.
Problems with fans without tickets
Go Ahead Eagles director Jan Willem van Dop said the police operation came about because there were fans on the buses without tickets, newspaper De Stentor reported. However, people without tickets should not come to the stadium. “Rules are rules and that is handled well here,” he said.
Out of concern about riots, the mayor of Deventer, Ron König, had already issued a ban on Stuttgart fans entering the city center in the afternoon. The reason is that, according to information from the police, there is a risk of serious disruption to public safety.
“Our starting point is that we want to organize the Europa League games in Deventer in a hospitable, comfortable and safe manner,” explained the mayor. “Now, however, it turns out that some people have completely different ideas about it. We won’t let this ruin a wonderful football festival. In the interest of the safety of real football fans, residents and entrepreneurs, I have therefore taken this measure.”