Crazy scenes at Roda Kerkrade
Holland club celebrates promotion twice, which is not
May 5, 2024, 7:54 a.m
The frenzy of joy came to an abrupt halt: Kerkrade celebrated promotion to the first division twice, but once the fans were too hasty and then misinformation made the rounds. The pure ecstasy is followed by frustration and disappointment, but a showdown against Arjen Robben’s former club still awaits.
The Dutch second division soccer team Roda JC from Kerkrade mistakenly celebrated promotion to the first division twice. One of the culprits on Friday evening was the stadium announcer who made a mistake. Kerkrade went into the penultimate matchday of the Keuken Kampioen Divisie in second place in the table with a direct promotion spot, one point ahead of FC Groningen. And immediately after the 2-0 home win against Cambuur Leeuwarden, cheering fans ran onto the pitch because in the parallel game Groningen were 17th in the table. Telstar Velsen was 0-1 behind from the first minute and the game was about to go to the final whistle – promotion was sealed for the Roda supporters.
But professionals and coach Bas Sibum fended off the fans and stood together to watch the final seconds of the Groningen game. And it happened as it had to happen: in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Groningen equalized to make it 1-1 – frustration and no promotion for Kerkrade.
First the euphoria of advancement, then frustration
But for some inexplicable reason, just two minutes later, cheers broke out again: fans stormed the pitch, Roda players hugged each other, captain Matisse Didden was carried on his shoulders by a supporter and waved his jersey exuberantly. What happened? It was incorrectly said that Telstar had scored the winning goal to make it 2-1. And Kerkrade’s stadium announcer believed that and announced the news via microphone.
“The players came out of the dressing room. Suddenly everyone started cheering and jumping. Then someone said to me: ‘Telstar scored a goal.’ People were crying next to me, players were coming out, everyone was celebrating. Then I thought: The stadium exploded,” said Wim Frijns at Voetbal International. But gradually everyone realized that it was false information. The players crept into the dressing room with their heads hanging, and the fans also left the pitch in disbelief.
Stadium announcer: I’m only human
“A little later I heard that the goal was disallowed. And then it turned out that no goal had been scored at all,” said Frijns: “I’ve been doing this for decades and I’m only human. Something can always go wrong. ”
Defender Didden also experienced the full range of emotions. “After FC Groningen equalized, people shouted that it was 2-1 to Telstar. Then I went completely crazy. Unfortunately, this joy only lasted 20 seconds. Now we have to finish it next week,” said the 22nd Year-old captain at ESPN.
And the season finale couldn’t be more explosive. Kerkrade only needs one point for final promotion. But Roda has to play away – in Groningen. And the relegated team, where Bayern legend Arjen Robben ended his professional career in 2021, could still overtake Kerkrade with a win. League leader Willem II Tilburg is already confirmed as a promoted team.