Amsterdam: Ajax Amsterdam’s first home game of the season against French club Nice in Champions League qualifying on Wednesday, kick-off 10.45pm, is a sell-out but the mood will be sombre in the stadium as players and supporters pay tribute to midfielder Abdelhak Nouri.
The 20-year-old collapsed on the field during a pre-season warm-up game in Austria on July 8 and has been left with permanent brain damage.
It has led to an outpouring of support for his family, with Ajax fans congregating outside Nouri’s home in the days after the incident, and further expressions of sympathy at the team’s matches since.
Poignantly, Nouri’s best friend Donny van de Beek scored for Ajax last week in the first leg in Nice which ended in a 1-1 draw.
“The goal was for Appie and his family,” said Van de Beek in reference to Nouri’s nickname.
Nice players showed their sympathy too, warming up before the first leg in tee-shirts inscribed with “Stay Strong Appie”.
Ajax have also trimmed activities at their traditional Open Day this Friday when supporters attend a training session and meet the players face-to-face.
“We feel a more sober character to the day is appropriate at this time,” a statement at the weekend said.
Nouri was discharged from intensive care last week but his situation has remained unchanged, a club statement said.
Ajax confirmed that although his heart is working normally, he has lost function in parts of his brain.
“The chances of recovery of these crucial brain functions is nil. This was probably due to a lack of oxygen supply to his brain,” the club said.
The incident has had a deep impact at the club.
“It’s really difficult, at times we all have our weak moments. Luckily, thanks to the football, we can dull those senses a bit,” said new coach Marcel Keizer.
“But I was not surprised by the mental character of the players against Nice. I can see how strong a squad they are.”
In other qualifiers, Scottish champions Celtic face a testing trip to face Rosenborg in the third round when they travel to Norway on Wednesday night, kick-off 10.45pm.
The Hoops were hampered by the absence of strikers Moussa Dembele and Leigh Griffiths for last week’s first leg and were held to a 0-0 draw against Kare Ingebrigtsen’s side in Glasgow.
Dembele will again miss out here, although Leigh Griffiths looks likely to return, while Brendan Rodgers will undoubtedly take heart from a 5-0 win against Sunderland at Stadium of Light in a friendly fixture on Saturday afternoon.
On the even of the fixture, it was announced Scottish police have arrested 12 men after illicit banners were displayed at the politically-charged Champions League clash between Celtic and Linfield last month.
Uefa charged Celtic over the illicit banners and blocked stairways during the qualifying round clash with Linfield at Parkhead on July 19.
Linfield fans are drawn from Northern Ireland’s Protestant community, putting them at odds with Celtic, who are historically seen as a Catholic side, and there were pitch invasions and missiles thrown during the first leg in Belfast.
Celtic responded to the Uefa charge by imposing a two-game closure on the section of their stadium used by the ultras-style ‘Green Brigade’ fans who displayed the banner.
Police Scotland on Tuesday said 12 men, aged between 18 and 49, have now been arrested after a “proactive police investigation into banners and material displayed”.
They have all been released on an undertaking to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court later this month.
Celtic’s partial stadium closure, thought to have affected 900 season-ticket holders in the safe-standing section of the ground, will be lifted after the Scottish Premiership match against Hearts on Saturday.
However, the Glasgow club said “a number of fans within this area remain suspended” while investigations continue.
