Arnhem mayor Ahmed Marcouch’s away-fan ban set off a Sunday standoff in the Eerste Divisie. De Graafschap supporters chained their car park gates, and the 15th-placed visitors (15 points) never saw first pitch against 10th-placed Vitesse Arnhem (18 points). The stands answered with chains.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Breaking the story on X, football news account The Touchline posted, “The match between Vitesse and De Graafschap in the Netherlands has been POSTPONED after angry De Graafschap fans LOCKED the stadium gates with chains to STOP their own team’s bus from leaving!”
The chains were no curveball. Graafschap supporters obstructed the exit at Stadion De Vijverberg in Doetinchem after the away side had their seat allocation reduced from 800 to 500, ordering Arnhem to clear the away section. The gates were chained to keep the bus from departing, not to shut it out.
After the 30-minute delay window expired, the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) officially postponed the match. Its competition chief had stronger words.
In an interview with Dutch broadcaster NOS, KNVB competitions manager Jan Bluyssen stated, “People are entitled to agree or disagree with something, but this really goes far too far. We need to put a stop to this. We’ve seen a lot of crazy things in the past, but this is mad.”
Bluyssen’s frustration has a paper trail. The problems at the last meeting in Arnhem in December led to the 500-fan restriction and checks on the banners, but some Graafschap fans said they would not cooperate.
In a statement to Dutch news agency ANP, the KNVB declared, “It is unacceptable that the match cannot go ahead under these circumstances. Making football impossible through the actions of supporters is completely unacceptable. They are hurting their own club, their team, the sport and the thousands of fans who come to watch football.”
The damage reaches the stands too. Thousands of Vitesse fans were in the GelreDome in Arnhem, expecting a match that never began. The case is now before the disciplinary panels, and the competition panel will consider it on Monday. De Graafschap were also shocked and released a short statement.
“We are negatively surprised and shocked by today’s events,” the club posted. “We want to let the initial emotions subside and assess the situation before issuing a further substantive response,” the club wrote on social media.
This is not the first time something similar has happened. In 2024, Belgian side Standard Liège went through the same. Like De Graafschap, the club’s Belgian Pro League match against KVC Westerlo had to be postponed after supporters blocked the team’s bus. The disgruntled fans reportedly protested the club’s management at the time and refused to let the bus pass.
The fallout does not end with one cancelled match, as both clubs still have league fixtures to play.
What Comes Next for Vitesse Arnhem and De Graafschap?
Known as the Kleine Gelderse Derby, the clash between Vitesse Arnhem and De Graafschap has become one of Dutch football’s most heated derbies. This latest incident was just the cherry on top that proves it with the two sides clashing heads. In fact, throughout the 2010s and 2020s, both sets of away fans became known for causing chaos.
From carrying pyrotechnics to fights with the police, it has led to the derby becoming an emotionally charged affair. It’s why De Graafschap fans had their allocations reduced for the 2026 game after a chaotic scene in 2025. Then, the stadium staff refused entry to over 800 travelling De Graafschap fans after they declined mandatory searches.
Fans reportedly threw fireworks at the police and caused a general ruckus, which led their away section being cut down to 500 for 2026. That was before Arnhem mayor Ahmed Marcouch wiped the away section entirely, leading to the latest incident. Instead, of being another hotly contested event, the derby between Vitesse (18 points) and De Graafschap (15 points) never reached first pitch. The stands answered with chains.
“At present, it is not yet clear when the match will be rescheduled,” Vitesse chief executive Willem van der Linden said in a club statement. “What we do know is that the intention is for this match to take place under the same conditions.”
“We are negatively surprised and shocked by today’s events,” De Graafschap said in a social media post. “We want to let the initial emotions subside and assess the situation before issuing a further substantive response.”
Vitesse sit on 18 points from 13 matches with a 5-3-5 record and travel to MVV Maastricht on Sunday, 15 November. De Graafschap, on 15 points from 13 matches with a 4-3-6 record, hosts TOP Oss on Saturday, 14 November, as the competition board’s discussion on Monday shapes everything that follows.