Feyenoord left Leeuwarden with five goals and three points on Sunday, but their emphatic win over SC Cambuur was pushed into the background by a fireworks incident that injured five home supporters and temporarily stopped the Eredivisie match.
SC Cambuur said fireworks were set off from the away section in the 12th minute and were also fired towards the pitch and surrounding home sections.
Five supporters suffered injuries including burns, hearing damage and eye injuries, according to the club.
The match was halted for roughly 10 minutes before play resumed following consultation with the relevant authorities and under KNVB protocols.
On the pitch, Feyenoord eventually powered to a 5-2 victory.
Gjivai Zechiël scored twice, while Luciano Valente and Ayase Ueda were also on target. Cambuur goalkeeper Thijs Jansen was credited with an own goal, while Ibrahim El Arguioui scored both of Cambuur’s second-half goals.
But the football quickly became secondary.
Cambuur condemned the incident as completely unacceptable and said it would work with the authorities to identify and punish those responsible.
Feyenoord also moved sharply to distance itself from the behaviour.
The Rotterdam club said it would seek camera footage from Cambuur to help identify those involved, with identified offenders potentially facing stadium bans.
General director Robert Eenhoorn said frustration over the incident overwhelmed any satisfaction from the result, while coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst apologised to Cambuur and its supporters on Feyenoord’s behalf.
Captain Luciano Valente also rejected the behaviour, reinforcing the club’s position that the scenes had no place in football.
That leaves Feyenoord with an uncomfortable split-screen from Leeuwarden.
A 5-2 away victory should have delivered an early-season statement on the pitch. Instead, the aftermath has shifted attention towards supporter safety, stadium security and the continuing problem of dangerous pyrotechnics inside Dutch football grounds.
Feyenoord itself acknowledged the wider issue, calling for renewed discussion between clubs, the KNVB and public authorities over how fireworks can be kept out of stadiums.
For Cambuur, however, the immediate concern is simpler and more serious: the condition and recovery of the supporters who were hurt.
Feyenoord won the match with five goals.
But five injured supporters defined the night.
