Heracles Almelo are changing the structure of the away end after an incident during last season's home game against FC Groningen. Two men fell through the acrylic glass plates and into the home end below, injuring themselves and children in the process.
The new away end will feature a polycarbonate lexan wall - a bar-like structure with a see-through, indestructible material - and netting above the away end to prevent visiting football fans from throwing objects onto the pitch.
Heracles director Rob Toussaint says he reluctantly had to place the structure. "We don't want this. But unfortunately, it is inevitable," he told TC Tubantia.
Images of the new structure, which were shared by an X account called 'AwayDaysNL', immediately sparked fury amongst football fans. People called it "dehumanising", compared it to Alcatraz, called it the "Almelo Penitentiary", called for fans to boycott away games at Heracles, and one Belgian user said "it's hard for us to build stadiums, but you turn stadiums into prisons."