Ajax - AZ called off due to snow on ArenA roof
(For updates: see bottom of report)
05 March: Match cancellations due to bad
weather seemed to be past history when Ajax moved to the
Amsterdam ArenA, a futuristic football ground with a
retractable roof and 'pitch heating', but King Winter booked an
unexpected triumph today: the top fixture in the Eredivisie
between Ajax and AZ has been called off to due the large
quantities of snow on the stadium's roof that are deemed
dangerous to players and spectators in and around the
ground.
The Netherlands was covered with up to ten inches of snow
last week. The temperature in Amsterdam has been lower
than -10 Celsius in the past three nights. As a result of these
historically wintery conditions in early March the roof of the
Amsterdam ArenA is now covered with a thick layer of snow and
ice.
A number of large glass panes of the stadium's
main entrance collapsed on Saturday afternoon, as a large
amount fell down on it from the ArenA roof. No-one was injured,
but the police immediately fenced off the area and closed the
Stramanweg (the road that runs under the ArenA) for traffic.
The danger that the layer of snow on the roof will
shift and come down was deemed so serious that Sunday's
Ajax vs AZ fixture has now become the first ever Ajax
fixture to be called off due to 'danger of avalanche'...
Ajax vs AZ would have been preceded by a minute of silence
and several other hommages to
Rinus Michels, who died on 03 March. Ajax
have announced that Michels will now be
commemorated prior to the home game against PSV on
Sunday 20 March. (MP)
UPDATE (08 March): The KNVB announced today that
the new date for Ajax vs AZ is Thursday 07 April (kick-off
20:15 CET). There is one reservation: if AZ manage to
qualify for the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup (by
eliminating Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine) they will
have 'European' midweek duties that week. In that case a
new date will have to be found.
UPDATE (17 March): Co Adriaanse's AZ eliminated
Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine in the UEFA Cup, which means
that the Eredivisie match between Ajax and AZ (originally
scheduled for 06 March, then re-scheduled to 07 April) can
not be played on the latter date. The KNVB announced today that
the fixture will be played on Sunday 10 April. The game
originally scheduled for that date, Ajax vs Willem II,
will now be played on Thursday 07 April. Check the Ajax USA matches page for the
updated fixture list.
Sources: Ajax.nl, NOS Teletekst
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