Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb has cancelled Sunday’s match between Feyenoord and Rotterdam at the Kuip stadium because of the planned police strike action.  The decision was taken unanimously by the council, the mayor said on Tuesday afternoon.

“The safety of players and the public cannot be guaranteed with a police presence,” he said.

The police said on Monday they would not be at the match between the two arch rivals as part of their campaign for an early retirement scheme.

Dutch league matches in Breda, Enschede, Almere and Groningen have gone ahead this season without a police escort after police unions boycotted the fixtures.

But clashes between Feyenoord and Ajax are seen as high risk because of the recent history of trouble between opposing supporters. The dual would only have had Feyenoord fans because away supporters have been banned from matches between the two clubs for years.

The Dutch football association KNVB said in a statement that Feyenoord-Ajax may now have to be played on a weekday which is “not ideal” for fans of the “Klassieker” or the police and local authorities.

There are limited options for this, the KNVB said. If the police campaign continues to disrupt matches, the backlog could lead to problems completing the competition. “In that case, football and all fans, which means some 10 million Dutch people, will be unfairly hard hit by the police campaign for early retirement,” the association said.

The clubs themselves are responsible for safety in the grounds.

Police unions said they were not surprised by the move but that they would continue their campaign as planned. “Our actions will not only target football matches,” spokesman Maarten Brink said. “In the future they will also impact other events and demonstrations.”