Ajax have criticised the “utterly outrageous” firework display which resulted in their Dutch league match against Groningen being abandoned.

Referee Bas Nijhuis took the players off the field at the Johan Cruyff Arena within five minutes of the start of the match after fireworks and flares were ignited behind one of the goals.

Attempts to restart the Eredivisie match 45 minutes later were met with more fireworks and prompted Nijhuis to formally abandon the game.

“Ajax considers what happened in the stadium this evening to be utterly outrageous,” the Amsterdam club said in a statement.

“We offer our apologies to everyone who has been affected in any way. The safety of spectators and players has been put at risk. That is unacceptable.

“We emphatically distance ourselves from this misconduct. Fireworks do not belong in the stadium.”

The match will resume on Tuesday at 14:30 CET (13:30 GMT) but will be played behind closed doors.

The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) said it “fully understands” the “disappointment” of the “vast majority of well-meaning Ajax supporters and the travelling FC Groningen supporters”.

“Those who do this are not there for the match or the football. It is sad for those who do support their club, the true supporters,” they said in a statement.

The Eredivisie said there will be “a disciplinary investigation” into the “unacceptable events surrounding Sunday evening’s match”.

Ajax said supporters in the relevant part of the stadium were searched before entry with sniffer dogs also deployed.

“We will, of course, review the camera footage to identify the perpetrators and will also investigate other ways to determine who is responsible,” the Ajax statement added.

“If this leads to the identification of offenders, we will take appropriate measures.”

Fans who are found to have set off fireworks can expect a fine of £400 (450 euros) in addition to a stadium ban for between 18 and 60 months.

It is not the first time that a match involving Ajax and Groningen has been abandoned in this way.

Ajax’s Eredivisie match at Groningen in May 2023 was abandoned after just nine minutes because fans of the relegated hosts threw fireworks on to the pitch twice.

In September of that year, Ajax’s match against Feyenoord – De Klassieker – was also abandoned when fireworks were thrown on the pitch, the match later resumed behind closed doors.