News report | 20-01-2026 | 16:02

The Public Prosecution Service demands five years in prison for a 31-year-old suspect from Utrecht and four years for a 21-year-old suspect from Alphen aan de Rijn. The men threw a heavy pole at a Feyenoord staff member in De Kuip, after the Feyenoord-Fenerbahçe match. The Public Prosecution Service suspects them of complicity in attempted manslaughter.

After the match on August 6, 2025, Fenerbahçe supporters sought confrontation with celebrating Feyenoord supporters. Three Fenerbahçe supporters threw a heavy pole over a partition wall towards Feyenoord supporters who were leaving the stadium at that moment. The pole, which later turned out to weigh 23 kilos, hit the head of a Feyenoord supporters guide, causing serious injury. The victim was terrified at that moment and is still not doing well. In addition to PTSD, he suffers from many physical complaints and is confronted daily with the consequences of the accident.

It was not possible to immediately arrest the suspects that evening, but the images of the incident quickly went viral on the internet. Thanks to the efforts of the program Opsporing Verzocht, two of the three suspects were eventually arrested.

Evidence

Based on witness statements and camera footage, which were also viewed in the courtroom today, the Public Prosecution Service has obtained a clear picture of what happened that evening. In addition, suspects admitted in their interrogation to having thrown the pole. However, they claim they thought no one was on the other side of the partition wall and that it was not their intention to hit anyone. The Public Prosecution Service disagrees and believes the suspects consciously took the risk that their actions could lead to serious injury and even death. Therefore, there is conditional intent to kill.

 

Great impact

 “The suspects took an enormous risk, causing the victim to be seriously injured. Such behavior, with a great impact on the victim and his environment, must be punished severely. Moreover, the violence took place around a football match, where unfortunately violence often occurs. Both the government and the KNVB apply a zero tolerance policy, meaning that penalties are increased for criminal offenses occurring around football,” said the public prosecutor. 
The Public Prosecution Service concludes that the suspects must be convicted of complicity in attempted manslaughter and that only an unconditional long prison sentence is appropriate.