Explained: What happened with Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam and how will football react?

Violent disorder broke out in Amsterdam after Ajax’s Europa League game against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday night.

Visiting fans of the Israeli club were attacked, according to local police, as they made their way back through the Dutch capital after the match, with some requiring hospital treatment. Earlier, Maccabi fans had also sparked tensions with their behaviour in the city centre.

They were scenes that shocked the world and pose difficult questions of football’s authorities. Here, The Athletic breaks down what exactly happened in Amsterdam, the background to it and how the sport could react with other potentially tense fixtures looming in the coming weeks.

What exactly happened?

An evening that played host to a seemingly routine European fixture between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv ended with what local police called an unjustified “outburst of violence toward Israeli supporters” in the Dutch capital.

Maccabi Tel Aviv, the reigning champions of the Israeli Premier League, are one of 36 teams competing in the group phase of the Europa League this season and had travelled to Amsterdam attempting to end a run of three consecutive defeats in the competition.

A 5-0 defeat by Ajax continued a damaging run but it was events away from the stadium, particularly after the game, that led to Dick Schoof, prime minister of the Netherlands, condemning the “antisemitic” violence.

At a news conference held in Amsterdam on Friday morning, police confirmed 62 arrests had been made across the city after visiting supporters were “attacked, abused and pelted with fireworks”. Five people were take to hospital injured — they were discharged on Friday — with as many as 30 more suffering minor injuries.

The heightened potential for trouble had been noted ahead of Maccabi’s visit given the war in Israel and Gaza, which began over a year ago. Maccabi’s visit also coincided with the week of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, when the Nazis conducted a pogrom against the Jewish population in Germany in 1938.

An additional police presence of 800 officers had been placed on duty by the city’s authorities, who had also banned pro-Palestinian protests from taking place at Ajax’s Johan Cruyff Arena. Fenerbahce’s visit to nearby AZ Alkmaar for another Europa League tie had also resulted in a high number of Turkish fans in Amsterdam.

Tensions had already climbed on Wednesday evening as a Palestinian flag was pulled down from the front of one building in Amsterdam city centre. Police chief Peter Holla also told a news conference on Friday that Maccabi fans had attacked a taxi and set fire to a Palestinian flag.

Police had escorted an estimated 1,000 Maccabi fans on their journey from Dam Square to the Johan Cruyff Arena, where a pro-Palestinian march had been organised nearby at Anton de Komplein.

Flashpoints were contained by police but it was after the game, once Maccabi fans had returned to Amsterdam city centre that, according to mayor Femke Halsema, rioters carried out several “hit and run” attacks on Israelis in various locations. Visiting supporters were eventually offered protection from police and taken to hotels by bus. Order was restored, according to Holla, by around 3am local time.

“I am deeply ashamed of the behaviour that unfolded,” Halsema told reporters. “On Telegram (messaging) groups, people talked of going to hunt down Jews. It’s so terrible I can’t find the words for it.”

In comments reported by Reuters, Israel president Isaac Herzog said the King of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, had expressed his “deep horror and shock” at the events in Amsterdam.

The scale of violence led to Israel airline, El Al, chartering two “rescue flights” on Friday morning, with instructions from Maccabi for its supporters to stay in hotels and avoid wearing Jewish symbols until returning home.

Many visiting fans were taken from their hotels to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport by buses which were afforded extra police protection on their journey.

Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters are transferred to the airport with police protection (Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

In the wake of the violence, Halsema also imposed emergency measures on the city, banning demonstrations and face coverings and handing police special powers to search suspects.

Was the violence football-related?

Yes and no. Maccabi’s visit to Amsterdam was undeniably the catalyst to the violence but wider tensions had already been sparked by the geopolitical backdrop of the conflict in Gaza and other parts of the Middle East.

Amsterdam, home to thousands of immigrants from Islamic countries, has seen regular pro-Palestinian marches and demonstrations in the last 15 months and hosting an Israeli club in a high-profile fixture had been considered a high-risk event by local authorities.

The presence of 1,000 or so travelling fans had done little to quell a tense atmosphere and videos were widely shared on social media appearing to show Maccabi supporters chanting anti-Arab slogans. Maccabi also have a problematic history with a section of their support, with their ultras group having been previously accused of using racist language.

That Friday’s events brought condemnation from prime ministers of both Israel and the Netherlands, though, underlined that the previous night’s violence in Amsterdam had transcended football. The attacks were widely accepted to be antisemitic at their heart and distressing in a city that has long been home to a strong Jewish community.

“The history of our city has been deeply damaged,” said Halsema, who likened the events to Kristallnacht. “The Jewish culture has been threatened.”

From left: chief public prosecutor Rene de Beukelaer, mayor of Amsterdam Femke Halsema and police chief Peter Holla address media (Koen van Weel/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

What have the club and UEFA said?

Maccabi responded early on Friday morning by coordinating with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Sport to safeguard the return of the club’s supporters to Israel. A hotline was established for families of fans in Amsterdam, with supporters told to follow instructions relayed by Israel’s national security headquarters.

Maccabi’s staff and players only returned to Tel Aviv on Friday afternoon and Ben Mansford, the club’s chief executive who has previously worked with English clubs Barnsley and Blackpool, spoke with reporters at the airport.

“We are shocked,” he told the club’s official website. “We came to play football and the reason you’re all here today is not because of a football match. Thank God all our fans are back.”

Maccabi said on their website that the club’s owner, Mitch Goldhar, opted not to return immediately to Tel Aviv. The Canadian businessman, whose mother is a Holocaust survivor from Poland, stayed behind in Amsterdam to visit those who had been hospitalised and check the safety of others. Despite initial fears in the immediate aftermath of people being reported missing, all Maccabi supporters were accounted for by Friday lunchtime.

Maccabi fans return to Israel after their trip to Amsterdam (Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Ajax strongly condemned the attacks on Friday and those sentiments were echoed by European football’s governing body UEFA, whose competition had brought Maccabi to Amsterdam.

“We trust that the relevant authorities will identify and charge as many of those responsible for such actions as possible,” it said in a statement. “UEFA will examine all official reports, gather available evidence, assess them and evaluate any further appropriate course of action in accordance with its relevant regulatory framework.”

Have Maccabi Tel Aviv been targeted before?

There had been no reported violent incidents at any of Maccabi’s four previous away European games this season (in Romania, Lithuania, Serbia and Portugal).

In March however, unverified video footage appeared to show a group of Maccabi fans involved in violence in Athens ahead of their side’s Europa Conference League knockout fixture against Olympiacos, the club who went on to win last season’s tournament. Local Greek media reported that a man, who had been carrying a Palestinian flag, was taken to hospital following the altercation on the afternoon ahead of the game. Greek police said that the Maccabi fans had reacted to provocation and that two people had been arrested.

Following the October 7, 2023 attacks, UEFA declared that no international fixtures would be staged in Israel until further notice. That means no UEFA-organised international or club matches, including Maccabi Tel Aviv’s European ‘home’ games, can be played in Israel.

Maccabi have played their ‘home’ European matches in three different venues: two of those grounds were in Hungary, the Bozsik Arena in Budapest and the Haladas Stadium in Szombathely, and the other at Partizan Belgrade’s home ground in Serbia, which will also host their remaining fixtures against RFS and Porto. To date, these matches have passed without incident.

In February, Gent played their Conference League home game against Israeli club Maccabi Haifa behind closed doors amid security concerns from local authorities.

What is UEFA and FIFA’s attitude to pro-Palestinian protests in stadiums?

Paris Saint-Germain ultras displayed a ‘Free Palestine’ banner ahead of their Champions League match against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, while Galatasaray fans also held up a banner with the same message throughout their team’s Europa League game against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday.

PSG supporters display a banner before their match against Atletico Madrid (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)

UEFA’s disciplinary rules state that clubs may be subject to disciplinary measures relating to “the use of gestures, words, objects or any other means to transmit a provocative message that is not fit for a sports event, particularly provocative messages that are of a political, ideological, religious or offensive nature”.

However, the definition of “provocative messages” remains open to interpretation. The overt support of a nation alone is unlikely to contravene UEFA’s definition, although, in the case of pro-Palestinian protests, this is more likely to be the case if the opposition team is from Israel.

FIFA, world football’s governing body, said in October it will investigate the Israel Football Association (IFA) over alleged breaches of its rules. It was the third time that FIFA postponed its decision on whether to suspend Israel from international soccer, having done so in May and then again in July of this year.

The IFA is accused of violating FIFA regulations by the Palestine Football Association (PFA). In a proposal that was first tabled at the FIFA congress in May, the PFA called on FIFA to suspend Israel for being complicit in “unprecedented international human rights and humanitarian law violations” during the war in Gaza. The IFA denies all allegations.

The PFA’s stance gained the full support of the Asian Football Confederation. In response, IFA president Shino Moshe Zuares dismissed the PFA’s demand as a “cynical political and hostile attempt to harm Israeli football”.

Celtic fans put on a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Borussia Dortmund (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Are there any other possible Maccabi fixtures which could be flashpoints?

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s next away game in the Europa League is against Turkish club Besiktas, but on Monday UEFA confirmed that the match will not be played in Istanbul, following a decision by the Turkish authorities.

The game will instead be staged at a yet undecided neutral venue, with UEFA and Besiktas in discussions around an alternative.

When Besiktas vice-president Huseyin Yucel was asked about a potential switch of stadium for the game in September, he claimed that Maccabi had not asked UEFA to change the venue.

“Israel did not apply to UEFA, there were only a few news articles about this in the press,” Yucel said, in comments reported by beIN Sports. “They lobbied for it, but thanks to our firm stance, they did not apply to UEFA. I think if nothing untoward happens, we will host them in Istanbul and the match will be played in Istanbul.”

Maccabi have lost each of their first four Europa League league matches and are on course not to advance further in the competition. Should the club finish between ninth and 24th in the 36-team league, they will play in a two-legged play-off match which will include an away game.

What about the Israel national team?

Israel are scheduled to face France and Belgium during the upcoming international break in Group 2 of League A in UEFA’s Nations League.

The French Interior Ministry confirmed on Friday that the game in Paris will go ahead as planned on November 14 despite security concerns.

It will be Israel’s second match outside of Hungary in 2024, following the 4-1 defeat by Italy in Udine last month. In September, Israel’s away game with Belgium — a 3-1 defeat — was played behind closed doors in Hungary following Belgium’s refusal to host the match over security fears.

France’s interior minister Bruno Retailleau wrote on his social media account on Friday: “Some are calling for the France-Israel match to be relocated. I do not accept this.

“France is not backing down because that would amount to giving up in the face of threats of violence and antisemitism. At my request, the prefect of police Laurent Nunez is taking the necessary security measures to ensure that this match takes place at the Stade de France, as usual.”

As with their other ‘home’ matches in the tournament, Israel will host Belgium at the Bozsik Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on November 17 to conclude their campaign.

(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)