Ajax to refund ticket and travel costs to fans
Ajax has decided to cover the financial losses of its fans who traveled to the match after being eliminated from the Dutch Cup following a 3-2 defeat to amateur side USV Hercules.
BBC
Ajax club will refund the ticket and travel costs of its fans who traveled to the away match in Utrecht, located approximately 45 kilometers away. Ajax, the team with the most league titles and cup wins in the Eredivisie, has had a very poor start to the new season.
The Amsterdam-based team, which dropped to the bottom of the league standings due to consecutive losses, terminated the contract of head coach Maurice Steijn because of the poor run of form.
Ajax, which began to rise again under new coach John van 't Schip, climbed to 5th place in the Eredivisie. However, head coach van 't Schip's trip to Australia for his son's wedding caused Ajax to regress once again.
After drawing 2-2 with PEC Zwolle in a league match over the weekend, despite leading 2-0, the Amsterdam side faced 3rd-tier team USV Hercules for a cup match on Thursday evening under assistant coach Michael Valkanis.
Ajax, which has managed to win the Dutch Cup 20 times, entered the match at Utrecht's Galgenwaard Stadium as the absolute favorite. However, USV Hercules, a mid-table 3rd-tier team composed of amateur players, took the lead early in the match with a goal from Tim Pieters and displayed an effective performance against Ajax.
Pieters, a student and amateur footballer who shares a house with two friends, made the score 2-0 in the 60th minute. Although Ajax equalized in the 83rd and 89th minutes, they could not stop Grotenberg's goal in stoppage time and left the pitch with a 3-2 defeat.
Ajax's elimination from the cup with this result caused a strong reaction from its fans. The Amsterdam team apologized to its supporters for the result.
In a statement from the club, it was said, "Due to our team's poor performance, you undoubtedly experienced the Hercules - Ajax match in a painful way. We share this sadness and feel deep shame."
The statement emphasized that as a result of evaluations made with the players and technical staff, it was decided to compensate the fans for their financial losses.
For this reason, Ajax club will refund the ticket and travel expenses of the 325 fans who traveled to the away game in Utrecht. Stating that this compensation "will not erase the memory of that painful night," the Ajax management added, "But doing nothing was not an option." Ajax, the team that has won the Dutch Cup the most times, was eliminated by an amateur club for the first time.