Violent clashes erupted overnight Thursday in Amsterdam ahead of the Europa League match between Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dutch giants Ajax, as tensions rose after footage surfaced of a Maccabi Tel Aviv fan tearing down a Palestinian flag from a city window.
In one incident, Dutch nationals of Turkish descent reportedly chased a Maccabi fan after apparently stealing his passport and proceeded to push him into a river. Maccabi officials said they were aware of the incident, and the fan was confirmed to be unharmed. The attackers posted an image of his passport on social media, revealing a photo suggesting his past service in the military.
In another incident, Dutch citizens of Turkish and Moroccan descent gathered outside an Amsterdam casino, waiting for Maccabi fans. Around 1:30 a.m., two fans entered the casino with visible injuries and blood on their faces.
Security immediately locked down the casino and instructed the Israelis to head downstairs as about 50 people, reportedly armed with knives and sticks, were waiting outside. “About half an hour later, around seven police vehicles arrived,” one witness said. "The police began escorting us out in small groups through an alternate route to avoid the attackers. They didn’t have a clear solution—just told us, ‘Go away and hope everything will be fine.’”
“We left in tiny groups. The whole situation was surreal. The city is filled with Palestinian flags, and nearly every taxi driver is Arab. If they realize you’re Israeli, there’s a lot of hostility,” shared Or Shponder, a fan currently in Amsterdam. The initial unrest reportedly began when an Arab taxi driver claimed he was attacked, prompting many of the disturbances that followed, largely instigated by taxi drivers of Arab descent.
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