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."
Newcastle have been told by the Football Association not to travel to the Dutch city of Utrecht for a pre-season friendly later this month.
The trip was thrown into doubt after it emerged local rivals Sunderland would be playing in Holland at the same time.
In a statement, the FA said it had "reluctantly withdrawn permission" for Newcastle to face Utrecht on 26 July.
bbc
uhm tats a correct measure..
as English fans r well-known hooligans, i suppose?