Ajax v Feyenoord abandoned after fans throw flares

Ajax are historically the most successful club in the Netherlands

Ajax's match against Feyenoord on Sunday was abandoned in the 56th minute after home supporters threw flares and fireworks on to the pitch.

The match was temporarily paused and then called off when trouble restarted.

"De Klassieker is permanently stopped after repeated fireworks on the field," said a statement from the Eredivisie.

"More information about how to complete this match will follow later."

Santiago Gimenez scored twice for Feyenoord and Igor Paixao added a third which triggered an initial reaction from home supporters.

A sign on the big screen at the ground had reminded Ajax fans that the 'lighting of fireworks is prohibited' but the message was ignored by a section of supporters.

Ajax said in a statement: "Shortly before half-time, fireworks were thrown on to the pitch, after which referee Serdar Gozubuyuk temporarily suspended the match.

"In the 56th minute, another fireworks incident took place. The referee officially suspended the match after consulting with the local authorities."

Ajax have won just once in four completed Eredivisie games this season and are languishing in 13th place in the table.

They finished third last season and failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 13 seasons. Feyenoord won the title.

Ajax director of general affairs Jan van Halst said: "We currently have no clarity about how this match will be handled. We are particularly disappointed that this match turned out this way. This is very hard on the entire organisation.

"It is one of the most important matches in Dutch football and it has been stopped. That is extremely sad.

"We are trying to manage that all our guests who were here today were able to leave the stadium safely. It is a bad start to the season. We understand the disappointment. But to express it through this behaviour , we disapprove."

Ajax fans reacted after the team went 3-0 down against their fierce rivalsAjax put a message on the big screen to remind supporters the lighting of fireworks was prohibitedReferee Serdar Gozubuyuk led the players off in the 56th minute and the match was abandoned