On drugs

Visitors to many Eredivisie clubs will occasionally catch the scent of weed in the air - especially true at Ajax. It's just part of the fabric of things in the Netherlands, and not an unusual occurence at UK clubs - Nick Hornby wrote about it in Fever Pitch 20-odd years ago.

But the police raid at FC Twente, leading to chaos and confrontation inside the ground and outside, was an altogether different matter.

This was a pre-planned raid on hard drug dealing and usage, including cocaine, focussed on the 'Supportershome' bar used prematch by the FC Twente ultras in Vak P.

I was in a shop in Twente and spoke about the evening's events with a young assistant.

"Vak P" she said. "It's always Vak P".

The day after the incident, the Mayor of Enschede announced the closure of the Supportershome for an indefinite period.

Which won't solve the problem, but might have a positive effect in deterring the dealers who had clearly developed a market among the hard core Twente fans.

Which only leaves the issue of the botched evacuation at the ground - plausibly explained by the club announcer either being given the wrong instructions, or misinterpreting them. 

What should have been "everybody in sections other than Vak P can leave as normal", became - "everybody out".

Note to the cops - write down exactly what you want the announcer to say and give him the bit of paper, if there is a next time. But lets hope there isn't.