“The measure is now full,” concludes Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema in a long letter to PSV director Marcel Brands. She has already used almost two sides to list misbehavior of supporters of the Eindhoven club, during matches against Ajax, in the past five years. Vandalism, throwing objects, death wishes, but above all: “massive” anti-Semitic chants, such as in the duel for the Johan Cruijff Scale on 30 July.
Halsema explicitly mentions in the letter, which was shared with the press by the municipality of Amsterdam on Monday, what could be heard during that match. “The chanting of slogans like ‘Hamas, Hamas, all Jews to the gas’, ‘All Jews must die’, ‘Together they burn Jews, because Jews burn best’, ‘Kick, kick, kick them down, kick those Jews down’ and ‘Steven Bergwijn [speler van Ajax en ex-PSV] dirty dirty cancer Jew go and die’ is completely unacceptable and in a number of cases even punishable.”
“Despite frequent warnings,” she continues, “there has been no improvement in the behavior of your supporters.” That is why the so-called triangle of mayor, police and Public Prosecution Service decided that PSV supporters are not welcome in the Johan Cruijff Arena when Ajax plays against PSV on 6 November. After that, it will be considered whether supporters will be allowed again “step by step” – in what way is still unclear.
The decision of the Amsterdam triangle is striking: anti-Semitism has never been the main reason for refusing a supporter group. Ajax regularly plays football without an away audience, for example, the classic between Ajax and Feyenoord has been played with an empty space since 2009, but these kinds of decisions were made “on the basis of disturbances”, says a spokesperson for the municipality of Amsterdam. “Speaking choirs were sometimes part of that, but they were not the main reason.”
Clear rules
“I think it is a courageous and commendable decision by Halsema,” said Eddo Verdoner, National Coordinator for Combating Anti-Semitism. He was “pleasantly surprised” that the mayor of Amsterdam named the subject so specifically.
Anti-Semitic slogans, in response to the nickname ‘Super Jews’ that Ajax supporters have used for decades, are a persistent phenomenon in football. “It is often said that the toleration of anti-Semitic chants must stop. But now the mayor says: this far and no further.”
Willem Wagenaar, social science researcher at the Anne Frank House, is also positive: “What Halsema has done is crucial to combating anti-Semitic chants. She therefore sets clear rules: a lot is allowed, but we will not tolerate this. And if you do it anyway, there will be consequences.”
That is certainly necessary, says Karin Blankenstein, chairman of the John Blankenstein Foundation, which wants to promote ‘the social acceptance’ of gays and lesbians in top and recreational sports and thinks along with the KNVB, among others, about chanting policy. “Nowadays, racism is often intervened, but not with anti-Semitic and homophobic chants. That has to change.” Halsema also called it “unacceptable” in her letter that Ajax supporters sang ‘all farmers are gay’ during the Johan Cruijff Scale.
Widely supported awareness
PSV says it “accepts” the decision of the Amsterdam triangle, according to spokesman Thijs Slegers. “Insulting and hurtful chants have no place in any stadium.” However, he continues: “It is a pity that the good suffer among the bad.” He believes that PSV does not take ‘responsibility’, as Halsema suggests in her letter. “We can try everything, but that doesn’t mean that supporters listen to us. That also applies to setting off fireworks, for example.”
A KNVB pilot is currently running at PSV, among others, which may make it possible to trace who sings certain songs in the future, says Slegers. In addition, the club is in ‘structural consultation’ with supporter groups ‘from the hard core to the business club’. “None of them says: such a chant is completely justified. They all say it shouldn’t be. Yet these kinds of chants arise, and not only with us, by the way. We really hope that a widely supported realization will now sink in: this puts your own team at a disadvantage.”
The chairman of the (independent) supporters’ association of PSV, Rob Bogaarts, said earlier that he did not support Halsema’s decision. There is a double standard, he wrote on Monday. “What is sung by Ajax fans in Eindhoven is comparable material: hurtful.” In addition, he stated: “Let’s not confuse rivalry with hatred,” though he also ruled that certain chants are “indecent and even scandalous.”
A repressive measure is not enough to change the behavior of supporters, says Wagenaar of the Anne Frank House. “That requires education.” For example, in collaboration with Feyenoord and FC Utrecht, the Anne Frank House developed a workshop for supporters who expressed anti-Semitic statements. At war memorials, they talk to Jewish supporters of their own club.
Wagenaar: „It thus becomes clear: what is intended by anti-Semitic chants – hitting supporters of the opposing party – misses the mark. Many don’t give a damn what you shout or sing, but it does ensure that we, the Jewish supporters of the same club, no longer come to the stadium. If you sing that ‘all Jews have to turn on the gas’ I see my grandfather walking back into the gas chamber, look, he’s on a list of names here.”
The workshops are effective, according to Wagenaar. “Our problem is that it involves many supporters and a long process. We still have to come up with solutions for that.”
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of August 24, 2022
