Chaotic scenes broke out on the streets of Amsterdam and The Hague again over the weekend after Morocco defeated Canada over 5,000 miles away in Texas. Groups of Morocco supporters took to the streets, with reports of fireworks being fired into crowds, reckless driving, and clashes with police.
Despite the disorder, police adopted a restrained approach. Riot squad commander Sander van der Hulle said officers deliberately avoided intervening in some incidents to prevent wider violence.
“If you start enforcing against minor offences, it becomes war,” he told De Telegraaf, adding that police sometimes choose not to intervene in order to stop situations from escalating.
Geert Wilders (PVV) has sharply criticized the police’s strategy, describing it as a capitulation to public disorder.
“This is surrender and only cowards surrender,” he said, arguing that authorities should arrest those responsible and deport foreign offenders.
The PVV leader has repeatedly called for tougher measures following unrest linked to celebrations involving Moroccan football supporters.
The disturbances have reignited debate over integration and public order in the Netherlands, home to around 430,000 first- and second-generation people of Moroccan origin.
Violence following Moroccan national team victories has occurred on several occasions in recent times, for example at the end of June in a World Cup match between the Netherlands and Morocco. Wilders also called at the time for the deportation of foreign nationals.
