terrible information: the Ajax Amsterdam head coach is suspended following evidence of an affair with his key player’s wife.
Ajax’s match against Utrecht was postponed twice due to spectators tossing projectiles onto the field during their fourth straight Eredivisie loss on Sunday afternoon.
At 3-3, a player from Utrecht was racing through on goal when some Ajax supporters threw objects onto the field, causing confusion that prevented the two teams from winning. With one minute of regular time left, referee Dennis Higler abruptly halted the game and gave the players the order to leave the field.
When play finally started, Oscar Luigi Fraulo’s goal for Utrecht proved to be the game’s crucial difference, igniting a frenzy among the home crowd and infuriating the Ajax supporters. Actually, when Higler halted play for the second time, the away fans interrupted the game once more.
When play resumed, Utrecht prevailed 4-3 to go above Ajax and into 16th place, with Steijn’s team now sitting second-bottom with five points from seven Eredivisie games. Ajax has never had a worse start to a season, and Steijn is under intense pressure to continue leading the team.
The Premier League decides to go dark at 3 p.m. as more games are made available on television.
Steijn would have been encouraged by his Ajax team, which at one stage overcame a two-nil deficit to take a 3-2 lead courtesy of goals from Steven Bergwijn and Kristian Hlynsson. However, all of that effort went in vain, as Ryan Flamingo and Mike van der Hoorn also scored for Utrecht, while Jens Toornstra equalized and Fraulo scored the game-winning goal.
“When I enter the club, I can feel the support from the people within the club, as well as from my players and staff,” Steijn stated following his team’s loss. I simply have the impression that people still have faith in me. We are aware that a crisis has arisen, but all I can say is that this is how I feel.”
It was necessary to suspend Ajax’s match against Utrecht twice.
Two suspensions were required for Ajax’s match against Utrecht (Image: Getty Images).)
This season, there have been other occasions when an Ajax game has had to be postponed. Crowds were not happy with the team’s performance in the match against Feyenoord last month. Feyenoord was leading 3-0 in the 55th minute when the referee decided to end the game due to irate fans throwing flares into the field.
