Police file first charges over Amsterdam violence after ‘incidents on both sides’

Most of 62 people arrested so far fined for public disorder as police hold four suspects in custody

Authorities in Amsterdam arrested 62 people over violent clashes following a football match between Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday night.

Most of them received fines for public disorder while some faced charges for minor offences or were still under investigation. Police also detained an additional suspect based on video evidence and called for further information from the public.

The prosecution service said four suspects, including two minors, remained in custody on suspicion of engaging in public violence during the rioting. They were scheduled to appear before a magistrate this week.

The violence, including “hit-and-run attacks” by scooter-riding youths targeting Maccabi fans, was condemned internationally. Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof and US president Joe Biden decried the violence as antisemitic, with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu likening the attacks to the 1938 Kristallnacht pogrom.

The violence started when the Maccabi fans reportedly tore down a Palestinian flag, engaged in vandalism and assaulted taxi drivers.

Social media videos showed a crowd of Israeli fans shouting anti-Arab slogans, referring to the Israeli military’s war on Gaza.

Amsterdam police chief Peter Holla said there were “incidents on both sides” starting on Thursday night when the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans removed a Palestinian flag from a building facade in the city centre, shouted anti-Palestinian slogans and vandalised a taxi.

The Dutch public prosecution said the 62 people were arrested both before and during the game, which started at 8pm local time.

Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Party for Freedom, which is part of the Dutch governing coalition, expressed shock over the violence, saying he was “speechless” that no arrests seemed to have been made after the match.

The violence left five people hospitalised and several injured. In response, Amsterdam enacted a state of emergency, heightened security around Jewish buildings, and banned demonstrations.

Pro-Palestinian protesters defied the ban, however, leading to further arrests. Hundreds of protesters gathered in Amsterdam’s Dam Square and chanted for an end to the war on Gaza and “Free Palestine” before police intervened.

Israel’s national security council advised its citizens to avoid travelling to the UK and Europe for cultural and sporting events in the wake of the violence in the Netherlands.

Additional reporting by agencies.