Imane Rashidi
The Hague, March 8. SV Spakenburg, a third division side from a fishing and baking town in the Dutch province of Utrecht, have made it to the semi-finals of the Dutch Cup, but their eventual arrival in the final sparks controversy: club statutes Cristiano is not allowed to play on Sundays.
Spakenburg’s refusal to play a football match on a Sunday is unanimous, even the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) knows it. Religion still plays an important role in this town of 21,000, where many go to mass on this day and spend the rest of the day resting or visiting family, but without disturbing or making noise.
Now that SV Spakenburg have qualified for the semi-finals with Feyenoord, Ajax and PSV, the two groups that reach the final will face off for the cup on Sunday 30 April at De Kuip (Stadion Feijenoord ), the stadium of the city of Rotterdam.
“No, it’s not possible,” said Spakenburg chairman Marc Schoonebeek when asked about this scenario. The KNVB has assured public broadcaster NOS that it does not rule out adjusting the day of the match in advance and assures that there will be a consultation meeting between the representatives of the clubs which are in the semi-finals to decide on a specific date.
“Our approach is to make it a Saturday night game. If it’s a Sunday, I think we’ll say no, but it’s not clear yet,” Schoonebeek said.
It is even written into the statutes of the Christian club: “The association aims to practice and promote sport in general and football in particular, every day of the week, except Sunday”, specifies we.
It’s the general written rule, but the club chairman admits that not all players see this as a problem because “the boys within the playing group are different”, although he also knows that “it wouldn’t be not the first time you have to stick to the statutes,” he said.
Sunday rest is still taken seriously in several places in the Netherlands, especially in religious towns around the Bible Belt. Neighbors don’t drill, vacuum, put on loud music, let alone shop on Sundays in many cities because shops have always been closed on that day.
Spakenburg coach Chris de Graaf is also unsure if his team will reach the final. They will play the semi-final at home against PSV on April 4, after obtaining permission from the municipality on Tuesday to expand the stadium with temporary stands for the approximately 8,000 spectators expected for their special day.
The coach believes that having reached the semi-finals is already “great for the people”, who in reality are split between supporters of the reds (IJsselmeervogels) and the blues (Spakenburg), two rivals now united in the celebration of a common victory: last week’s defeat of FC Utrecht in the quarter-finals against local footballers.
De Graaf, 36, has been at Spakenburg since the age of 5, was a player for the club and in November signed a 2.5-year contract as manager. He thinks reaching ‘De Kuip would be legendary’ for his team and for his people.
The club, which originated in 1931, survives thanks to local members and volunteers, but also to its nearly 300 patrons, including local businesses (bakeries, fishmongers, florists and other businesses in the town), but also companies with a more international character, such as Domino’s Pizzas or Amstel.
With their qualification, Spakenburg are the third amateur team to reach the semi-finals of the national tournament since the introduction of professional football in 1956. VVSB, a club from the Dutch town of Noordwijkerhout in South Holland, reached the semi-finals. finals in 2016, preceded by the IJsselmeervogels in 1975. But none reached the Dutch Cup final.
The other semi-final will be played between Feyenoord and Ajax, respectively first and second in the Eredivisie, the Dutch division of honor, and these eternal rivals will meet on April 5 or 6 at De Kuip, but, as d usual in recent years, they play without an audience in the stands to avoid serious disturbances, confirmed the municipality of Rotterdam. ECE
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