A terminally ill Ajax fan, identified only as Peter, was unable to attend the replayed match against Groningen on Tuesday after his health deteriorated. Peter, who is living in a hospice, had been granted permission to be the sole supporter in the stands for the rescheduled game, which was played behind closed doors.
The original fixture on Sunday was abandoned within five minutes of kick-off due to a large pyrotechnic display by a section of Ajax supporters. An attempt to resume 40 minutes later also failed when more fireworks were thrown. The remainder of the match was rescheduled for Tuesday.
Ajax had allowed Peter to fulfil his final wish of attending one last game, but on Tuesday, volunteers from WensenAmbulance Noord-Holland, a charity that helps fulfil final wishes for the terminally ill, found him too ill to attend. “When the volunteers arrived at the hospice this afternoon to fulfil Peter’s last wish, it unfortunately turned out that Peter’s condition had deteriorated to such an extent that his last wish will never be fulfilled,” the charity said in a statement.
André, a staff member from the charity, had accompanied Peter to the abandoned match on Sunday along with Peter’s adult son. He described Peter’s disappointment at the abandonment, saying, “When we arrived at the stadium, we were given excellent guidance by the stewards. We got a great spot behind the goal. Peter was very disappointed. This is, of course, incredibly frustrating.”
Ajax had previously condemned the fans’ behaviour as “utterly outrageous” and said they “emphatically distance ourselves from this misconduct.” The Eredivisie will investigate the events that led to the game being stopped. Ajax went on to win the replayed match 2-0, which restarted in the sixth minute.
