Riot, pyro, player protest
Van der Vaart’s home debut ends in fiasco
03/19/2022 12:53 p.m
Rafael van der Vaart takes over as interim coach at the Danish second division club Esbjerg fB and has to experience a very bitter home game debut: The game on Friday evening is interrupted several times, supporters fire Pyro onto the field. At the end, the players push the ball towards each other.
Rafael van der Vaart’s first home game as interim coach of Danish second division club Esbjerg fB was overshadowed by fan riots. The game against Lyngby BK had to be stopped twice on Friday night after Esbjerg supporters threw firecrackers onto the pitch. In the end, both teams finished the game by passing the ball to each other. Lyngby won 3-0.
The club spoke of a “sad Friday evening” on the club’s website and distanced itself from the behavior of the fans. The EfB condemns every form of pyrotechnics in the strongest terms, it said.
About ten minutes before half-time referee Jonas Bögelund sent the players into the dressing room for the first time shortly after Lyngby had taken the lead and Esbjerg was sent off. Shortly before the end Bögelund interrupted the game again and wanted to stop the game. The players apparently persuaded the referee to return to the field and pass the ball to each other in protest at the supporters’ behavior.
Van der Vaart, along with Michael Kryger, took over from the dismissed German coach Roland Vrabec a week and a half ago. In the first game they drew 0-0 in Horsens, which Esbjerg missed the promotion round. The ex-HSV professional lives on Denmark’s west coast because his partner Estavana Polman is a professional handball player there. Son Damian plays for the youth of Esbjerg fB. Van der Vaart ended his career in Esbjerg in 2018.
The ex-Bundesliga professional became the new assistant coach at the Danish second division club in August 2021. “I lived in the city with my family for several years and feel connected to Esbjerg and the EfB,” said the former Hamburger SV star at the time. “I’m also a real football fanatic, so it’s a logical step to get involved and use my experience to help us develop,” said van der Vaart.