It's just a hobby some guys have here.
Football is not just a game here. Supporters are sometimes prepared to die for their club and their club is a kind of religion. They live for their club.
Now it was Ajax vs Maccabi
And I think the Israelis (Jews) were not that well informed about our football culture.
At the end of the match the clubs are never allowed to leave the stadium at the same time, because then it is literally war.
Only when all the supporters of one club have left, the other is allowed to leave the stadium. If you are tired of life, you hang around for a while until the second club comes out.
So what happened is quite normal here.
I have experienced it many times, it is tough but it does not get worse than a few broken ribs or a loose tooth. If you are chased and thrown into a canal, we laugh about it.
But there is a difference since the war in Gaza. There are many Moroccans and Palestinians living here and certainly since the genocide in Gaza they have become more irritable. And among them there are also many Ajax fans.
Amsterdam is known as a city with a rich Jewish history, and it has had a large Jewish community for a long time. Because of this Amsterdam was sometimes called "Mokum", derived from the Yiddish word for "city". Because Ajax is a club from Amsterdam, an association began to arise between Ajax and the Jewish community, although the club itself was not or is not specifically Jewish.
Now since the war in Gaza no one wants to be affiliated with Jews anymore.
Everyone with a little bit of social feeling in the Netherlands disapproves of what is happening in Gaza.
This incident is being made a big deal of in the media. But it actually shows how bad it is what is happening in the Middle East.
What happened after the match is something we do disapprove of here in the Netherlands, but it is simply part of our culture. I don't know anything else than that it has always been like this.
We also understand here that it is especially now that it evokes a lot in the world.
But the competitions here are truly a special phenomenon that you have to have experienced to understand it.
A thrill that is comparable to drag racing or bull fighting but squared.
This is a normal preparation for the competition:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hJCbFSrmzUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km0NPX9VTDgAnd that is after yesterday's outcome.
Also very normal and even a bit quiet. (There were only 10 wounded). That is peanuts.
Usually it goes like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhV3Gi7wwfo