The number of serious disturbances at professional football matches fell in the 2024/25 season, leading to fewer national stadium bans, according to the Dutch football association KNVB’s latest safety report.

Of the 968 professional matches played last season, only three resulted in more than 20 fans being banned from stadiums. In total, the KNVB handed out 824 nationwide stadium bans — down from 1,100 the previous season. The number of bans for public disorder also declined, from 176 to 108.

“The chance of being caught has increased significantly in recent years, but because fewer people were involved in incidents overall, fewer stadium bans were imposed,” said Marianne van Leeuwen, the KNVB’s director of professional football.

“Clubs are responsible for safety in their stadiums and have invested millions of euros in recent years in improving security — from staff training and crowd control to new technologies. They deserve full credit for that.”

The average length of a stadium ban was 22 months compared with 24 months last season. Because the length of a ban depends on the seriousness of the offence, this also indicates a decline in the number of severe cases, the KNVB said.

The number of disciplinary investigations launched by the independent football prosecutor rose slightly from 150 to 161. However, most were minor incidents.