The mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, wants to ban Sunderland from the Amsterdam
Tournament later this month because he fears clashes between the
club's fans and supporters of Newcastle, who will be playing in
nearby Utrecht.
Sunderland have been invited to play in the pre-season
tournament – along with Benfica, Atlético Madrid and hosts Ajax – on 24 and 26 July and Black
Cats followers have already taken up an allocation of 4,000
tickets.
But with north-east rivals Newcastle also playing in Holland on
26 July, the Football Association have told their Dutch
counterparts, the KNVB, they are worried about trouble. Utrecht is
around 30 miles from Amsterdam.
"It is out of the question that both clubs can play at the same
time," said Cohen. "Talks with the municipal authorities and the
club Utrecht have not ended in a result and I don't want to take
any risks.
"It's not for nothing that we have been warned by the English
FA. I understand that such a measure has far-reaching consequences
for Ajax's traditional tournament but the safety of the city is the
first priority."