Dutch police arrest 90 England fans after Amsterdam trouble
England fans were met by riot police in Amsterdam.
Ninety England fans were arrested in Amsterdam on Friday after trouble ahead of the friendly against Holland.
The Amsterdam police force posted a statement on their official Twitter account announcing the number taken into custody, bringing the total of England supporters arrested this week to over 100.
Almost 60 were detained after they were penned in by riot police in the red light district of the city.
An Amsterdam police spokesman told Press Association Sport: “We arrested 90 English people, mainly because they were disturbing the peace.
“Some were arrested because they were throwing beer bottles in the direction of officers.
“From the 90 arrests most were arrested while blocked in by the riot police after disturbing the peace. The commander made the decision to arrest them all with the numbers between 50 and 60.
“When we arrested that group it became quiet in the red light district although there were still hundreds of English people staying but they were not causing any problems.”
An initial statement, which was quickly updated to reflect the growing number, said the Amsterdam police had arrested 70 fans.
Riot police were due to remain in Amsterdam to ensure there was no trouble after the game.
Friday’s incidents followed an earlier announcement that 25 “drunken” fans were detained on Thursday for “various offences”, including beer bottles being thrown at police officers.
England manager Gareth Southgate had urged supporters to behave on the eve of Friday’s friendly, where his side were due to be backed by 5,253 fans in the away section.
“I think it’s important that our fans come and enjoy the game, that they support us in the right way,” Southgate said on Thursday evening.
“But I would strongly urge them to behave in the right way and respect our opponents and the country they’re in.
“They are representing our country in the same way we are. They will be the mirror of our country that people in Holland look at.”
The 1-0 defeat in March 2017 led the Football Association to clamp down on boorish behaviour, with lifetime bans from the England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC) dished out for the first time after two individuals were caught making Nazi gestures.
There were 27 members suspended in total for their behaviour in Dortmund, with a further six given written warnings while there remains one case pending.
The FA will review those caught up in trouble in Amsterdam to see if ESTC members were involved and punish them accordingly.
Josh Mahoney, 23, is in Amsterdam with family for his first England game and told the Press Association following the news of Thursday’s arrests that the police were “very heavy-handed”.
“It’s like they want England to push them back to make us look bad,” he said.
“They attacked us for no reason. There was a riot van at the door pulling fans out of the pub. We had been in there several hours with no trouble at all.”
