Children only to watch Ajax

ROTTERDAM - Reuters

The Ajax vs. Alkmaar game on Dec 21, 2011, was interrupted after keeper Esteban Alvarado (R) was involved in a fight with an attacker who rushed from the stands. AP photo

The Dutch Cup replay between Ajax Amsterdam and AZ Alkmaar on Jan. 19 will be watched by a crowd of children only, Ajax said on Jan. 11.

The last-16 match was abandoned on Dec. 21 shortly before halftime after a fan invaded the pitch and attacked Alkmaar keeper Esteban.

Esteban retaliated and was sent off but his red card was rescinded and Ajax were forced to replay the game in an empty stadium.

Ajax last week asked the Dutch football association (KNVB) to allow women and children to attend the match but the ruling body decided that only the latter would be permitted because of a national law of comparable treatment for men and women.

The Dutch club’s demand came months after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) turned a ban of playing behind closed doors into not allowing men, and opening doors to women and children under the age of 12. The Spor Toto Super League match between Fenerbahçe and Manisaspor on Sept. 20, last year, attracted some 40,000 women and children at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul, creating a memorable spectacle.

Fenerbahçe was having the second of its two-game ban of playing behind closed doors due to crowd violence in an exhibition game earlier in the summer.

Tickets will be free for clubs and primary schools with children aged under 13 and one adult will be allowed in to look after every six of them.
Alkmaar lead the Dutch league standikngs with Ajax in fourth.