by Machiavel Sat Dec 15, 2007 11:51 pm
Ajax chairman John Jaakke has slammed police unions after the club's top-of-the-table clash with PSV Eindhoven on Sunday was cancelled due to strike action.
Feyenoord's encounter with AZ Alkmaar at De Kuip on Saturday suffered the same fate after police unions ACP and ANPV announced they would hold meetings during both games, leaving Amsterdam and Rotterdam with a shortage of police personnel.
The unions are attempting to draw attention to their demand for a pay raise for their members.
The police won a ruling in Amsterdam District Court on Friday that affirmed their right to strike.
The mayors of Amsterdam and Rotterdam decided to call off the matches on Saturday morning because they could not guarantee the safety of fans at the grounds, leaving Jaakke dismayed at the situation.
He told his club's official website: "We find it unbelievable that this is possible. In spite of the verdict of the judge on Friday night, we had the fullest confidence until this morning that we could play the match."
He added: "We don't appreciate the way the unions have handled this case. We are asking ourselves how many people are victim of these actions.
"We always try to take the wishes of the police into account in our decision-making.
"It looks as if they can't do that with the millions of football-lovers who were looking forward to this match."
Ajax had earlier posted a statement on their website that confirmed that the club was "looking for possibilities to let the game against PSV be played".
However, they also warned fans not to travel to the Amsterdam ArenA on Sunday unless they are told otherwise.
Feyenoord director Onno Jakobs echoed Jaakke's sentiments after his club was informed that they would unable to host AZ just hours before the scheduled kick-off time.
He told his club's official website: "We of course understand why the mayor took this decision. After all, he is responsible for the order and safety in the city.
"We must say we find it incredibly sad that the police unions fight out their arguments on the backs of the clubs and the spectators, that Feyenoord loses a lot of money because of it and that football-loving Holland will miss a spectacular weekend."
Meanwhile, the Dutch football association, the KNVB, have joined in with the chorus of disapproval directed at the unions by highlighting the financial implications of their actions.
KNVB director Henk Kesler revealed that Ajax and Feyenoord would suffer losses of around 200,000 euros (£143,000) each due to the postponements, and added that compensation would be sought by the KNVB.
"We will lodge claims with the unions," said Kesler. "What were they thinking?"
He added that there would also be financial implications for television networks that were due to broadcast the games.
"I do not know the claims of our television partners yet," Kesler continued. "Their broadcasts of these games are off and because of that they have been damaged too.
"As far as we are concerned, the unions are fully responsible."
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