He died at the age of 21, when on 7 June 1989 he was killed in the Surinam Airways Flight PY764 air crash in Paramaribo.

Due to the sad moments of Knel's death a special relationship between fans of both teams was created.

Ten years after the disaster both clubs released a combined edition of their fanzine in memorial of Knel.

The fans also introduced the Andro Knel Trophy, which is held every time the clubs play each other competitively in the Dutch leagues.

Prior to the match the fans play against each other to decide which team wins that year's Andro Knel Trophy.