Only children under 13 years old (and one adult chaperone for every six kids) will be allowed in Ajax's Amsterdam Arena for the replay of their Dutch Cup round of 16 match against AZ Alkmaar on January 19. A pitch invader attacked AZ Alkmaar goalkeeper Esteban during the first attempt to play the match three weeks ago, leading to the AZ players walking off and the match being abandoned.
Ajax were originally ordered to replay the match in an empty stadium, but the club's hope for a compromise and, interesting enough, national gender equality laws will result in a crowd that might be more appropriate for a Justin Bieber concert.
Reuters said:
Ajax last week asked the Dutch football association (KNVB) to allow women and children to attend the match but the ruling body decided that only the latter would be permitted because of a national law of comparable treatment for men and women.
Tickets will be free for clubs and primary schools with children aged under 13 and one adult will be allowed in to look after every six of them.
The "women and children only" idea perhaps came from Turkish club Fenerbahce, which gave free tickets to 41,000 women and kids earlier this season in an effort to show adult male problem starters what they were missing after originally being ordered to play behind closed doors. The experiment was a success, with a peaceful, joyful and boisterous crowd creating a great matchday atmosphere.
That was with a more equal distribution of female adults to every child, though. Allowing just one adult for every six children under the age of 13 sounds like the makings of a pre-teen riot. The few adults allowed in probably won't make it out alive.
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