A Dutch assistant referee officiating at his son's youth
football match has died after being kicked and beaten by several
players.
Richard Nieuwenhuizen collapsed and was rushed to the hospital hours after players from Amsterdam club Nieuw Sloten punched and kicked him following the match. The team were playing against Buitenboys, Nieuwenhuizen's club, which said the 41-year-old linesman died on Monday night but did not announce the exact cause of death.
"You can't believe this could happen. That kids of 15 or 16 are playing football, you come to watch and see something like that," Marcel Oost, the chairman of Buitenboys club, told national broadcaster NOS.
Three players, aged 15 to 16, were arrested earlier on Monday for alleged involvement in the beating, which happened on Sunday in the town of Almere.
The Dutch sports minister, Edith Schippers, told NOS even before the news of Nieuwenhuizen's death that "it is absolutely terrible that something like this can happen on a Dutch sports field".
Anton Binnenmars of the Royal Netherlands Football Association said he was shocked by such an act at a youth league match. "It is too crazy for words that somebody involved in a sporting hobby becomes a victim of this kind of aggression," he said in a statement.
Nieuwenhuizen had been officiating in a match in which his own son was playing, Oost said.
"He was glad to be a part of this club and proud of his son.
"This not just a tragedy for Almere and our club, but for Dutch football in general. This can't happen on the football field."
Police spokeswoman Leonie Bosselaar said shortly before the assistant referee's death was announced that the players were still in custody and investigations were continuing. She added that police would not rule out arresting more suspects.
Nieuw Sloten said in a statement on its website that it had banned the players involved and pulled its team out of the league. The statement said such incidents "do not belong on a football field". Both clubs cancelled all training scheduled for Monday.
The death came almost exactly a year after a Dutch amateur footballer fatally kicked a 77-year-old supporter following a match.
Amsterdam district court last week sentenced the player, identified only as Silvester M in line with Dutch privacy laws, to three years in prison for kicking the supporter so hard in the chest that his spleen ruptured. He died of his injuries a month later.
The attack in Almere was discussed at a news conference in Spain on the eve of Ajax's Champions League match against Real Madrid.
"You can't imagine it happening," said the Ajax coach, Frank de Boer. "That boys of 15, 16 years short-circuit like that. You wonder about the parenting. Something has to be done, because this is too ridiculous for words."
Richard Nieuwenhuizen collapsed and was rushed to the hospital hours after players from Amsterdam club Nieuw Sloten punched and kicked him following the match. The team were playing against Buitenboys, Nieuwenhuizen's club, which said the 41-year-old linesman died on Monday night but did not announce the exact cause of death.
"You can't believe this could happen. That kids of 15 or 16 are playing football, you come to watch and see something like that," Marcel Oost, the chairman of Buitenboys club, told national broadcaster NOS.
Three players, aged 15 to 16, were arrested earlier on Monday for alleged involvement in the beating, which happened on Sunday in the town of Almere.
The Dutch sports minister, Edith Schippers, told NOS even before the news of Nieuwenhuizen's death that "it is absolutely terrible that something like this can happen on a Dutch sports field".
Anton Binnenmars of the Royal Netherlands Football Association said he was shocked by such an act at a youth league match. "It is too crazy for words that somebody involved in a sporting hobby becomes a victim of this kind of aggression," he said in a statement.
Nieuwenhuizen had been officiating in a match in which his own son was playing, Oost said.
"He was glad to be a part of this club and proud of his son.
"This not just a tragedy for Almere and our club, but for Dutch football in general. This can't happen on the football field."
Police spokeswoman Leonie Bosselaar said shortly before the assistant referee's death was announced that the players were still in custody and investigations were continuing. She added that police would not rule out arresting more suspects.
Nieuw Sloten said in a statement on its website that it had banned the players involved and pulled its team out of the league. The statement said such incidents "do not belong on a football field". Both clubs cancelled all training scheduled for Monday.
The death came almost exactly a year after a Dutch amateur footballer fatally kicked a 77-year-old supporter following a match.
Amsterdam district court last week sentenced the player, identified only as Silvester M in line with Dutch privacy laws, to three years in prison for kicking the supporter so hard in the chest that his spleen ruptured. He died of his injuries a month later.
The attack in Almere was discussed at a news conference in Spain on the eve of Ajax's Champions League match against Real Madrid.
"You can't imagine it happening," said the Ajax coach, Frank de Boer. "That boys of 15, 16 years short-circuit like that. You wonder about the parenting. Something has to be done, because this is too ridiculous for words."
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