The F-side is a Dutch
football hooligan
Football hooliganism, also known as soccer hooliganism, football rioting or soccer rioting, constitutes violence and other destructive behaviours perpetrated by spectators at association football events. Football hooliganism normally involves ...
group associated with
AFC Ajax
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...
. The name came from the stand in Ajax' former stadium
De Meer Vak F.
Background
The F-side was founded in 1976. The biggest rivalry was between the F-side and
Vak S of
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...
. The F-side has also many clashes with the North Side of
ADO Den Haag
Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...
and the Bunnikside of
FC Utrecht
Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion Galgenwaard.
The club was formed in 1970 as a merge ...
. After the infamous
Staafincident The Iron rod incident ( nl, Staafincident) was an incident of football hooliganism at the De Meer Stadion of Dutch football club Ajax Amsterdam on 27 September 1989. During a home match against Austria Wien, the Austrian goalkeeper Franz Wohlfahrt ...
( Iron bar incident ) in 1989 Ajax took measures. After a very high fence was installed in front of the F-side's traditional seating in Vak F, the F-side decided to move to Vak M, next to the stand for away supporters. Other supporters from other cities in the Netherlands came to use the old F-side stand. The old F-siders came mainly from Amsterdam. In the F-side there were now two groups - the old and the new generation.
[ :nl:F-Side]
The Battle of Beverwijk
On March 23, 1997 the F-Side boys met with Feyenoord hooligans on a freeway outside Amsterdam in Beverwijk and the violence which followed has been come to be known as the Battle of Beverwijk. Feyenoord and Ajax had not played that day. During the battle Carlo(s) Picornie, an F-Side top boy, was killed and several other people were seriously injured. According to some it was a miracle that "just" one man was killed. The fighting only lasted about five minutes. When the police arrived, the fighting had already stopped and no arrests were made. Feyenoord fans came armed with bats, chains, bottles, Molotov cocktails, and tasers, many of which were seized by police after the battle. The death of Picornie is still fresh in the minds of Ajax fans and, to this day, his seat is left unoccupied at the stadium in remembrance of his murder.
Amsterdam Arena
In 1996 Ajax moved to a new stadium: the
Amsterdam Arena. The Ajax board decided to spread the members of the F-side in the stadium. The F-side made an agreement with the Ajax board to give the F-side a stand in the south side of the stadium (old and new generations on the same stand). In 2009 another Ajax hooligan group called (Ultras)
VAK410
The VAK410 (Dutch, "Section 410") was a Dutch Ultras group associated with AFC Ajax. The name comes from the name of their initial stand in Ajax's home stadium, the Amsterdam Arena.
Background
VAK410 was founded on 26 January 2001 by fanatic s ...
was moved from the north side of the Arena to the south side above the F-side. VAK410 and the F-side dominate a large area on the south side of the stadium.
Because the hooligan problem in the Netherlands was a big problem, the government decided to make a ''combi'' arrangement. The away supporters can only come to the game by train (or by bus) from their city to the other stadium. There is also a chopper above the train the whole rail track. Nearby the other stadium the away supporters go from the (separate) rail station in a tube to the away stand. In spite of this the games
AFC Ajax
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...
-
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...
, Feyenoord - Ajax, Ajax -
ADO Den Haag
Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...
and ADO Den Haag - Ajax are played without away supporters because there is always trouble and there is an enormous police force power needed.
In the last few years, the F-side has become less active. The most of the original members are no longer active as hooligans and because the F-side is nowedays not the only "hardcore group" of Ajax (the hooligans of Ajax also includes members from
VAK410
The VAK410 (Dutch, "Section 410") was a Dutch Ultras group associated with AFC Ajax. The name comes from the name of their initial stand in Ajax's home stadium, the Amsterdam Arena.
Background
VAK410 was founded on 26 January 2001 by fanatic s ...
and other groups). The F-side (and the other Ajax groups) use to name
A.F.C.A (hooligans) to identify themself as the Ajax hooligans. Nevertheless the influence of the F-side is considered one of the strongest among the Ajax hooligans.
Judaism
Ajax is popularly seen as having "Jewish roots" and in the 1970s supporters of rival teams began taunting Ajax fans by calling them Jews. Ajax fans (few of whom are Jewish) responded by embracing Ajax's "Jewish" identity: calling themselves "super Jews", chanting "Joden, Joden" (Jews, Jews) at games, and adopting Jewish symbols such as the Star of David and the Israeli flag. This Jewish imagery eventually became a central part of Ajax fans' culture. At one point ringtones of "Hava Nagila", a Hebrew folk song, could be downloaded from the club's official website. Beginning in the 1980s, fans of Ajax's rivals escalated their antisemitic rhetoric, chanting slogans like "Hamas, Hamas/Jews to the gas" ("Hamas, hamas, joden aan het gas"), hissing to imitate the flow of gas, giving Nazi salutes, etc. The eventual result was that many Jewish Ajax fans stopped going to games. In the 2000s the club began trying to persuade fans to drop their Jewish image, but did not achieve success in this pursuit. Supporters, on and off the field, still employ imagery associated with Jewish history and the Israeli nation.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
's
Yid Army
The London club Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur has one of the largest fan bases in England. The fanbase of Tottenham was initially drawn primarily from North London and the nearby Home counties, but the fanbase has expanded worldwide and ...
use similar symbols.
See also
*
Sven Westendorp
Sven Westendorp, "HIGH" (December 22, 1969 — August 17, 2011) was a criminal, graffiti artist, and designer from Amsterdam, Netherlands. Since his early years as a graffiti writer in the 1980s Sven was tagging the name "HIGH" helping to pioneer ...
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VAK410
The VAK410 (Dutch, "Section 410") was a Dutch Ultras group associated with AFC Ajax. The name comes from the name of their initial stand in Ajax's home stadium, the Amsterdam Arena.
Background
VAK410 was founded on 26 January 2001 by fanatic s ...
*
South Crew
The South Crew ("STH-CRW") is a Dutch football tifosi group associated with AFC Ajax. The name is from their location the stand in Ajax' home stadium Amsterdam Arena, namely Zuid-1 and Zuid-2.
Background
South Crew was founded 26 August 200 ...
*
North Up Alliance
The North Up Alliance ("N.U.A.") is a Dutch football tifosi group associated with AFC Ajax. The name is from their location the stand in Ajax' home stadium Johan Cruyff Arena, namely rows 409 to 414 in the 2nd ring of the Stadium.
Background ...
*
Barra Brava
*
Casual (subculture)
*
Curva
Curva (plural: ''curve'' ) is an Italian term or name for curved stands of seating located at sports stadiums, particularly in Italy; so named, originally, due to their curved or bending shape. The curva plays an integral part in the culture of ...
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Hooliganism
Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events.
Etymology
There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...
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List of hooligan firms
Hooligan firms (also known as football firms) are groups that participate in football hooliganism in European countries. For groups in Latin America, see barra brava and torcida organizada.
Belgium
* Club Brugge – East Side
*RSC Anderlecht ...
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Major football rivalries
This list deals with football rivalries around the world. This includes club teams who compete in local derbies as well as matches between club teams further afield. It also lists international rivalries and rivalries between individual players ...
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Torcida
Torcidas organizadas () are formal (or informal) associations of football fans in Brazil in the same vein as '' barras bravas'' in the rest of Latin America, ''hooligan firms'' in United Kingdom and ''ultras'' in the rest of Europe, Asia, Aus ...
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Ultras
Ultras are a type of association football fans who are renowned for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tende ...
References
External links
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{{AFC Ajax
AFC Ajax
Association football hooligan firms
Gangs in the Netherlands
1976 establishments in the Netherlands