Heads of state and government condemn “anti-Semitic” football clashes in Amsterdam

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Israeli, Dutch and European leaders on Friday condemned “anti-Semitic” clashes that broke out overnight after a Europa League soccer match in Amsterdam and in which Israel sent rescue planes for its citizens.

Violence flared after the game between home team Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, which Ajax won 5-0.

According to police, five people were hospitalized and 62 people were arrested as a result of the clashes.

As fans of both teams gathered for the game in Amsterdam on Thursday, police said they were on alert and observed several incidents, including the tearing down of a Palestinian flag from a building.

At around midnight there were apparently violent clashes, reported the Dutch media AT5.

Social media platforms were flooded with unconfirmed images purporting to show the violence, but there were few confirmed details about the clashes.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the clashes and spoke of “shocking images” of a “pogrom” reminiscent of last year’s Hamas attack on Israel.

“It is with horror that we see this morning the shocking images and videos that we had hoped never to see again since October 7th: an anti-Semitic pogrom currently taking place in the heart of Amsterdam, Netherlands, against fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv and Israeli citizens,” Herzog said on X.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered two planes to be sent to the Netherlands to bring Israeli fans home.

The first plane took off from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Friday towards Amsterdam.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof condemned the “totally unacceptable anti-Semitic attacks on Israelis.”

“I watched the reporting from Amsterdam with horror,” Schoof wrote on

Netanyahu’s office said he told Schoof that he “views the deliberate anti-Semitic attack on Israeli citizens with the utmost seriousness and calls for increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands,” his office said.

Dutch authorities said they would hold a news conference at 11 a.m. GMT.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said she was “outraged” by “vile attacks on Israeli citizens in Amsterdam.”

“I condemn these unacceptable acts in the strongest terms,” von der Leyen wrote on X.

“Anti-Semitism has absolutely no place in Europe. And we are committed to fighting all forms of hate,” she added.

The United Nations, meanwhile, described the violence as “very worrying.”

AT5 reported that there were numerous fights and vandalism in the city center.

“A large number of mobile unit vehicles are on site and reinforcements have also been requested,” it said. “Young people are also said to have provoked the police.”

Images on AT5 showed Dutch police escorting fans back to their hotels.

An unconfirmed video on social media, said to have been filmed on Thursday, appeared to show some Maccabi fans chanting in Hebrew: “No more Arabs!” We will win!”

The Israeli embassy in the United States said “hundreds” of Maccabi fans were “ambushed and attacked in Amsterdam this evening as they were leaving the stadium after a game.”

In its post on X, the embassy blamed the incident on a “mob targeting innocent Israelis.”

Israeli authorities urged their citizens in Amsterdam to stay in their hotels and avoid displaying Israeli or Jewish symbols when they go outside.

The army said it was coordinating a “rescue mission” involving cargo planes and medical and rescue teams.

Israel’s new foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said in a statement that he had asked the Dutch government for help to ensure that Israeli citizens left their hotels safely and got to the airport to board the rescue flights.

A pro-Palestinian rally against the Israeli football club’s visit was originally scheduled to take place near the stadium on Thursday, but was postponed by the Amsterdam city council for security reasons.

Another potential football-related flashpoint is that France will face Israel in an international match next Thursday at the Stade de France in Paris.

The French government said on Friday the game would go ahead as planned.

The violence in Amsterdam occurred amid anti-Israel sentiment and anti-Semitic attacks are reportedly increasing around the world as Israel wages wars against Iranian-backed militants in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, resulting in scores of civilian casualties.