Rovers friendly off amid fears

Blackburn's pre-season friendly with Dutch club NEC Nijmegen scheduled for Sunday afternoon has been cancelled due to the threat of fan violence.

The decision was taken by the police and the local authorities in Nijmegen after it was claimed that Rovers supporters had been involved in disturbances in Deventer on Friday and Nijmegen on Saturday. In addition to the friendly, Nijmegen had been set to host a fans' open day, with the local authorities expecting around 8,000 visitors including families with young children.

A statement on the Gelderland-Zuid section of the www.politie.nl website read: "The deputy mayor of Nijmegen has decided to cancel the exhibition game between NEC and Blackburn Rovers. That match was due to be played today at 2.30pm during the annual open day of NEC."

Copyright (c) PA Sport 2012, All Rights Reserved.