Amsterdam City Hall announced on Tuesday that the match between Ajax and Lazio Rome on Thursday December 12 will be played without the presence of Italian supporters, citing too great a risk of “extreme right, anti-Semitic and racist” demonstrations.
“The Ajax-SS Lazio football match will be played without an outside audience on Thursday, December 12. Supporters of SS Lazio from Rome are not welcome in Amsterdam,” the municipality of Amsterdam said in a statement, specifying that it was a concerted decision between the mayor, the police chief and the attorney general.
This decision comes three weeks after the Dutch capital was shaken by violence following the Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi-Tel Aviv.
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On the night of November 7 to 8, supporters of the Israeli team were chased and beaten in the streets of Amsterdam, during attacks described as anti-Semitic by the Netherlands and several Western countries.
According to police, tensions were high before the football match. Anti-Arab slogans were chanted by Israeli supporters, who also vandalized a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag.
The Ajax-Lazio match on December 12 was described as a “high-risk match” by UEFA and the police, Amsterdam City Hall said.
“Some SS Lazio supporters are known for their far-right and fascist sympathies and their anti-Semitic and racist expressions. They notably made the Hitler salute, displayed swastikas and insulted the effigy of Anne Frank,” we read in the press release.
The priority of the authorities is now to maintain calm and security in a context of “tension” and strong emotions in Amsterdam, which the municipality links to the “war in Palestine, Israel and other countries in the Middle East “.
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