Fans at a soccer game between Dutch club sides FC Twente and PSV Eindhoven got a bit more than they bargained for today when a bizzare public service announcement politely asked them to leave the game with just over 13 minutes to go in regulation.
Een aparte situatie bij Twente-PSV. Alle supporters moeten het stadion verlaten. De politie is bezig met een onderzoek naar drugshandel. pic.twitter.com/7Whek3kKix
— NOS Sport (@NOSsport) April 6, 2017
For those of you who can’t read Dutch, fans were asked to evacuate the stadium due to a drug trafficking investigation. There are currently conflicitng reports on Twitter, with some reports saying the whole stadium was asked to leave and other reports saying only certain sections were asked to leave.
The Polite Overijssel, the local police, said in a series of Tweets the department had been investigating potential drug trafficking for some time and that “momentum is crucial” in finding the perpetrators.
A rough translation is provided below:
“The police in [the] #Vakp home supporters in the stadium Grolsch Veste Enschede [are] conducting an investigation because of possible drug trafficking. Police have recently [s]een signs of possible drug trafficking but also intimidation and violence in and around home [stadium of] Vakp. Therefore, [we] intervened tonight in the #Vakp home supporters [section]. [Investigative] action is still ongoing.
We understand that the timing of the action in the home of #VakP raises many questions. This momentum, however, was crucial. From police investigation, [it was] revealed that the chance to see the greatest drug [trafficking] was during a football contest.”
K9 drug units were brought out in the section to sniff for any illicit drugs.
A representative for the police was interviewed post-match by FOX Sports Netherlands, saying “We had to do this during the match because only during the match would many drugs be present.”
A fan sitting on the supporter’s side managed to get a picture right as police were about to send in K9 units and it looks fairly chaotic:
Meest bizarre voetbalwedstrijd ooit in de Veste.. Rare gang van zaken. #twepsv pic.twitter.com/hfNZzhxvYQ
— Tom Snijders (@tomsnijders) April 6, 2017
There also appears to have been some clashes with police in that particular section as well just after the announcement was made.
Ging lekker bij #twepsv hè. #FCAfkicken @FCAfkicken pic.twitter.com/YKq25ORims
— Eric Mertens (@EricMMedia) April 6, 2017
We’re yet to know if police managed to find drugs or not; there are no officially confirmed reports out regarding the status of the investigation.
Unbelievably, the game went on uninterrupted the entire time. Despite the chaos, the game ended in a 2-2 draw thanks to the late game heroics of Manchester City loanee Bersant Celina for the home team FC Twente.
The result ruined an eight-game winning streak for PSV Eindhoven, who were eliminated from title contention due to the result.
Spelers vieren feest met overgebleven publiek na de gelijkmaker in extremis #twepsv pic.twitter.com/QzkZfohZON
— Frank Krake (@FrankKrake) April 6, 2017