Arson in hotel parking lot: Ajax team bus burnt out
05 October: The night's rest of the Ajax team prior to
the Eredivisie away fixture at FC Groningen was brutally
interrupted by the fire alarm of the hotel the team was staying
at, just after 4:00 AM on Sunday morning. The team coach,
parked in the hotel parking lot outside, was burning - and
entirely gutted by the time the fire department arrived. The
police assumes that the incident is a case of
hooliganism-related arson.
In preparation for the FC Groningen game Ajax checked into
the Golden Tulip/Duinoord Hotel in Zeegse, a village in the
province Drenthe, south of Groningen city. Room-mates Wesley
Sonck and Tom Soetaers were reportedly the first ones to
be woken up shortly after 4:00 AM by several explosions in
the parking lot. The fire alarm went off shortly thereafter. It
appeared that Ajax's team 'touring car' was ablaze. As the
flames threatened to spread to the balconies of several hotel
rooms, the staff decided to evacuate the building. The
fire department arrived on the spot soon, but were unable to
save the bus, which was declared 'total-loss'. No-one was
aboard the vehicle. There were no personal injuries.
The entire Ajax squad had to stay outside for almost three
hours, from 4:00 to around 7:00 AM, before the hotel management
was granted permission by the fire department to
allocate new rooms to the Amsterdam team. Police investigation,
meanwhile, brought to light that the fire was set deliberately.
The criminal investigation department arrived the next morning
for a technical trace investigation.
Ajax head-coach Ronald Koeman later admitted that the Ajax
delegation briefly considered returning to Amsterdam without
playing. Reportedly, however, the Dutch Football Association
(KNVB) insisted that the game be played. Ronald Koeman's
reaction on NOS radio, after the game: "Of course we considered
going home. But in this country, apparently, someone will
have to die or get seriously hurt before we ever take
action." Ajax drove to Groningen using the team bus of De
Graafschap, which the First Division side kindly put to
Ajax's availability.
Ronald Koeman talked to each of his players, asking whether
they were physically and mentally ready to play. The entire
squad wanted to play - and
won the away game in Oosterpark Stadium by 1-3.
Although the police did not make any statement about the
perpetrator(s) yet, it seems safe to assume that the arsonists
are FC Groningen hooligans. Prior to the game in Oosterpark
Stadium the general directors of both clubs, Hans Nijland of FC
Groningen and Arie van Eijden of Ajax, took the microphone to
speak to the crowd, thereby suggesting that the arson is
football-related. (MP)
Sources: ANP, NOS Radio and Teletekst, Ajax.nl,
VI.nl
Related links:
