Vitesse's derby against visiting De Graafschap was called off on Sunday after away supporters blocked their team's bus from leaving for the game. The Dutch second-tier fixture was scheduled to kick off at 12:15 p.m. local time, and thousands of home fans were already in their seats, but De Graafschap never arrived at the Gelre Dome in Arnhem, Netherlands.
De Graafschap fans were angered after their ticket allocation was reduced from 800 to 500 seats and additional safety conditions were imposed. With many fans unwilling to comply, it was decided on Saturday night to ban away supporters entirely. Fans responded by blocking the team bus's exit and locking the gates to the car park on Sunday morning.
Jan Bluyssen, the Dutch FA's manager of competition affairs, called the situation "truly unacceptable" and said he had never experienced anything like it. The Dutch FA said supporters making football impossible was completely unacceptable, adding that the match has been submitted to the disciplinary bodies. The competition board will discuss the situation further, and no date has been confirmed for the rearranged fixture.
De Graafschap's only public response so far has been a brief social media post saying the club was "negatively surprised and shocked" by the day's events. The club said it wanted to let emotions subside before issuing a further statement. Any potential punishment has yet to be announced.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing