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Violence after soccer match in Amsterdam leads to more than 60 arrests

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2 years ago

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Violence after soccer match in Amsterdam leads to more than 60 arrests

Four people were being held on Saturday in connection with violent clashes in Amsterdam that broke out after a soccer match between Ajax, a local Dutch team, and Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday.

The violence, in which Maccabi fans were chased down and attacked, resulted in the arrest of 62 people by police and the declaration of a three-day ban on protests in the city.

“It was a hit-and-run,” said Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema. “Football fans were beaten and scared, after which the rioters quickly left again, fleeing the police force that was on the move en masse yesterday.”

Halsema denounced the violence and called it “an outburst of antisemitism.” Amsterdam police spokesperson Sara Tillart told The Associated Press that it was too early in the investigation to determine if anyone other than soccer fans were targeted.

Marijke Stor, a Dutch police spokesperson, said no one has been charged yet. “If people are released, it doesn’t mean they are no longer a suspect,” Stor said. “Other arrests can still be made, of course, because the investigation is still ongoing.”

Amsterdam’s acting police chief, Peter Holla, said in a Friday news conference that tensions had already been high before the soccer match, and hundreds of additional police officers were dispatched to Amsterdam. Holla said some Israeli fans fueled tensions by attacking a taxi on Wednesday and a Palestinian flag. There was also a confrontation before the game between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli fans, he added.

One video geolocated by NBC News showed fighting near Amsterdam’s central station. NBC News also geolocated another video before or after the match that showed Israeli fans tearing down a Palestinian flag and singing “Death to the Arabs” and “Let the IDF win. We will f— the Arabs.”

Violence among fans of competing soccer clubs is not uncommon, but the incident on Thursday appeared to be related more to the conflict in the Middle East than the sport, as NBC News pointed out.

The violence has led to condemnation by leaders in Europe, Israel and the United States. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared the incident to Kristallnacht, when Nazi mobs launched systematic attacks on Jewish communities across Germany in 1938.

The Israeli government helped citizens arrange evacuations from Amsterdam via commercial flights.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Friday that it “condemns anti-Arab chants by Israelis and attacks on the symbolism of the Palestinian flag in Amsterdam.”

A United Nations spokesperson said on Friday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shocked by the violence and that he condemns all forms of antisemitism and anti-Muslim bigotry.

Amsterdam is home to a large Jewish community, and the city is where Anne Frank and her family hid from Nazi occupiers during World War II.

A report from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) earlier this year found that Jewish people in Europe face “high levels of antisemitism.” Muslims also face “ever more racism and discrimination” in Europe, the agency found. Both surveys were conducted prior to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, but FRA Director Sirpa Rautio said the rise of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate are fueled by conflicts in the Middle East.

Clarissa-Jan Lim

Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking/trending news blogger for BLN Digital. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.

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Trump-backed Jay Feely wins GOP primary in Arizona’s battleground 1st District

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17 minutes ago

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July 22, 2026

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Former Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely cruised to victory in Arizona’s 1st District on Tuesday, one of the nation’s most competitive battlegrounds.

Feely, a close ally of President Donald Trump, leveraged Trump’s endorsement to topple former state Rep. Joseph Chaplik.

He’ll face a steep challenge defeating the Democratic nominee in November: The 1st District, which spans the affluent suburbs north of Phoenix, is one of House Democrats’ top targets after Trump won it by just three points in 2024. Feely is looking to keep the seat under GOP control amid a midterm year that presents major headwinds for the party.

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Rep. Andy Biggs wins GOP primary for Arizona governor

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17 minutes ago

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July 22, 2026

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Trump-endorsed Rep. Andy Biggs has won the GOP primary to face Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in November, setting up a marquee governor’s race in one of America’s most competitive states.

Biggs, a former chair of the hardline House Freedom Caucus and a close ally of President Donald Trump, easily dealt with his only serious challenger, Rep. David Schweikert, on Tuesday. Before the primary results were official, he had already begun pivoting to the general election against Hobbs, who is seen as one of the most vulnerable Democratic governors this fall.

Republicans feel bullish about their odds of flipping the governorship, after Trump carried the state by five points in 2024. But even though Trump won last time, the state has gradually shifted to pure tossup territory over the past few years, electing Democrats to both Senate seats, as well as the attorney general and secretary of state’s offices.

Hobbs had already shifted her focus to Biggs as well. Her campaign has amassed a significant warchest for the race and has already started running ads. Biggs, given his lack of a significant primary challenge, has been able to hold onto more cash than his GOP rivals, but is still behind Hobbs.

The race will test whether Republicans, who are starting down a potentially bruising midterm cycle, can reclaim the top office of a state that has long been a place of success for the party.

During the Republican primary debate, Biggs spent more time talking about his working relationship with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly than he did flexing his endorsement from Trump or highlighting his House record, including his time atop the Freedom Caucus. Instead, he tried to refocus on his bipartisanship in Congress and his leadership in the state legislature.

“I know how to reach across the aisle,” Biggs said during the debate.

But he will still have to contend with many of his past stances, including his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election.

And Hobbs is already working to ensure voters know where Biggs stands on key issues as a longtime member of the House, including his anti-abortion positions and his role in 2020. Her campaign has repeatedly attacked him as “too extreme” for the state and has dubbed him “basement Biggs” for keeping a relatively low profile throughout the GOP primary.

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Trump-backed Mark Lamb wins Arizona House primary despite sex scandals

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July 22, 2026

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A scandal-plagued House candidate powered by President Donald Trump’s endorsement won a messy primary Tuesday.

Mark Lamb, the former Pinal County sheriff, overcame a late push from self-funding candidate Daniel Keenan in Arizona’s 5th District. Lamb will enter November as the heavy frontrunner in the deep-red Phoenix-area district to replace Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who is running for governor.

Keenan had poured nearly $2 million of his own cash into the campaign and attempted to make Lamb’s alleged sexual misconduct and abuse of power central to the race. Lamb has denied the allegations.

But Lamb — bolstered by Trump and Arizona-based Turning Point USA — managed to ward off the attacks.

The race’s outcome reveals the strength of Trump’s endorsement, and it’s the latest example of how willing GOP primary voters have been to accept scandal-ridden candidates favored by the president.

Lamb, who served as sheriff until 2024, earned national notoriety as a gun-toting critic of the Biden administration’s immigration and border policy. He secured Trump’s backing for the 5th District contest last year.

Then in May, the Arizona Republic launched a multi-part investigation alleging that Lamb engaged in a yearslong pattern of sending sexual images and instigating intimate encounters between him, his wife and others. One woman involved, Jillian Stannard, accused Lamb of encouraging her husband to have sex with other women, including Lamb’s wife. She also alleged that Lamb threatened her, saying there would be consequences, when Stannard raised concerns to religious leaders.

Screenshots the Republic obtained of messages with another woman, Tammy Peacock, suggest Lamb — then a sitting county sheriff — threatened to leverage Arizona’s revenge porn law against her.

In a statement last week, Lamb spokesperson Ed Morabito told Blue Light News that “these allegations are false and come from long-discredited political opponents.”

Lamb did not lose any significant endorsements in the wake of the scandals — Trump reinforced his endorsement in mid-July — even as Keenan made the allegations central to his campaign.

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