Ajax have gained themselves many fans this season, as the Dutch club’s young team made their way to the Champions League semi-finals.
On Tuesday evening, they managed to come away from Tottenham with a 1-0 victory, and Mauricio Pochettino’s side will find it hard to get the victory they need in Amsterdam.
Before the match, and outside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, an Ajax fan was captured on video physically attacking a reporter from Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
He hit both the journalist and cameraman, and it’s of course caused fuss in the Dutch media, a sour note on another good night for the club.
Since then, Ajax fan-group F-Side have put out a statement, and they’re not exactly apologising.
Accompanied by an image saying ‘F*** the media’, it reads: ‘There was a fantastic atmosphere yesterday in London around the semifinals of the Champions League between Tottenham Hotspur and AFC AJAX! Thousands of AJACIEDEN traveled in massive numbers, with or without a ticket.
‘They came by plane, boat, train, bus, car, you name it! For many AJACIEDEN, it was the umpteenth outing this year, which is too much for many employers. That’s why a lot of fans don’t get leave any more. A true AJACIED goes anyway, just calls in sick or something. We can’t be stopped!
There are still a few competitions ahead of us, which we have to win to win 3 prizes. The press will also be present in large numbers. That is why we warn one more time: just get lost with your cameras! From now on you are fair game!’
There is no justification for violence, and this is a very poor attempt at one.
The man who was attacked certainly wasn’t filming Ajax fans at the time, just the general coming and going outside Tottenham’s ground. As for the attacker not wanting to be filmed, well he’s now got 15 minutes of fame for being a thug, which surely wouldn’t go down well with an employer.
A clear threat of future violence against the media cannot, and probably will not, stop them from doing their jobs.
