Ajax were left seething after an "utterly outrageous" firework display brought their Eredivisie match with Groningen to an abrupt halt at the Johan Cruyff Arena. The fireworks, set off behind one of the goals, sent clouds of smoke billowing into the air, forcing referee Bas Nijhuis to abandon the game just five minutes in.
The Dutch champions were livid about the safety risks posed by the pyrotechnics and have condemned the display as completely unacceptable. "We consider what happened in the stadium this evening to be utterly outrageous," they said in a statement. "We offer our apologies to everyone who has been affected in any way, particularly the players and spectators. The safety of both groups is paramount, and we will not tolerate such reckless behavior in our stadiums."
The incident marred an otherwise thrilling match that had begun on a frantic note, with Groningen striking first through Azzedine Ounahi's thunderous goal from just inside the box. However, Ajax equalized before half-time with a goal of their own.
In other action across Europe, Real Madrid battled to a 1-1 draw against Girona in La Liga. Kylian Mbappé scored a second-half penalty for the visitors after Vinícius Júnior was fouled inside the box, but Azzedine Ounahi had given his side an early lead with a powerful strike.
The title race in Spain remains tight, with Real Madrid slipping to second place on 33 points, one behind leaders Barcelona. Villarreal and Atlético Madrid are also in contention for top spot, while Inter Milan secured a 2-0 win over Pisa in Serie A to move level with AC Milan at the top of the table.
In Norway, Viking have won their first league title in 34 years after hammering Vålerenga 5-1 on the final day of the Eliteserien season. The Stavanger club's fans went wild as they celebrated their historic victory, having finished third last season and narrowly missing out on a Champions League spot.
The Dutch champions were livid about the safety risks posed by the pyrotechnics and have condemned the display as completely unacceptable. "We consider what happened in the stadium this evening to be utterly outrageous," they said in a statement. "We offer our apologies to everyone who has been affected in any way, particularly the players and spectators. The safety of both groups is paramount, and we will not tolerate such reckless behavior in our stadiums."
The incident marred an otherwise thrilling match that had begun on a frantic note, with Groningen striking first through Azzedine Ounahi's thunderous goal from just inside the box. However, Ajax equalized before half-time with a goal of their own.
In other action across Europe, Real Madrid battled to a 1-1 draw against Girona in La Liga. Kylian Mbappé scored a second-half penalty for the visitors after Vinícius Júnior was fouled inside the box, but Azzedine Ounahi had given his side an early lead with a powerful strike.
The title race in Spain remains tight, with Real Madrid slipping to second place on 33 points, one behind leaders Barcelona. Villarreal and Atlético Madrid are also in contention for top spot, while Inter Milan secured a 2-0 win over Pisa in Serie A to move level with AC Milan at the top of the table.
In Norway, Viking have won their first league title in 34 years after hammering Vålerenga 5-1 on the final day of the Eliteserien season. The Stavanger club's fans went wild as they celebrated their historic victory, having finished third last season and narrowly missing out on a Champions League spot.
It looks like some people think they're above the law... 
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely" - Lord Acton (this firework display is a perfect example of how reckless behavior can have disastrous consequences) 
come on guys, fireworks in a football stadium? it's just asking for trouble 
they should've thought about the players, spectators, and everyone else around 
The players are already so physically fit, you don't need to add all that extra risk to the mix. And those smoke clouds were huge! You could barely see what was going on on the pitch 
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. It's just not worth it. The game itself was pretty intense, too - Groningen's Azzedine Ounahi scored some crazy goal from outside the box 
... anyway, yeah, fireworks don't belong in football stadiums. Period. 
ajax is being super unreasonable though, a little bit of smoke isnt gonna kill anyone...i get why they're mad tho, you dont wanna have an accident on the field. anyhoo, congrats to vikings for winning that league title tho 
ajax are being super reasonable by calling out the display as "utterly outrageous", but i guess that's just a nice way of saying "we're really mad at you". 
. And Groningen are already getting some heat for their team being reckless 
. On a more positive note, congrats to Viking for winning their first league title in 34 years 
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Those smoke clouds were everywhere and just waiting for a spark (literally) to set off. Glad no one got seriously hurt though.
. And nice job by Inter Milan, getting back into the mix with that win over Pisa 
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The fact that the game was abandoned after just five minutes is crazy. And can you believe Groningen thought it'd be a good idea to set off fireworks during a match?! 
what is going on with those fireworks 
I don't get why Groningen would set off fireworks behind one of the goals during a soccer match. What were they thinking? 
Didn't anyone check if it was gonna be safe or not? The whole stadium got affected, and now Ajax is all upset about it... seems reasonable to me 
. But hey, at least Real Madrid managed to get a 1-1 draw against Girona. That's more like it 
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but cmon can we just have a normal match for once?!