Turkish football fans clash with police

Turkish football fans clashed with police in Rotterdam Sunday evening, after police tried to clamp down a celebration over the victory of Turkish football club Fenerbahçe.

Hundreds of Turkish fans had taken to Hofplein in the center of the city; a party brewed, but when annexed the roundabout and blocked traffic, police stepped in. Armed with batons and aided by police dogs, officers summoned the partiers to move; when that did not happen fast enough, their tactics became harsher. The joyous party turned into a battlefield, with police beating down on the fans and the fans responding with bombarding the officers with fireworks. It is not known if anyone got injured during the fracas. The Turkish fans were taken aback by the police reaction. “We just wanted to have a party like we always do and usually that’s not a problem. If Feyenoord supporters throw a party they don’t get beat down, do they? Is it because we’re immigrants?” one complained. A police spokesman said that police only took action when the fans entered the road and disrupted traffic. “When the officers called the fans on that, they turned on them. The officers had to act.” The incident has prompted questions in the Second Chamber. The PVV faction Bontes/Van Klaveren has fired an email with five questions to the Ministers of Safety and Justice and Social Affairs and Employment. Van Klaveren noted that there is often unrest among Turkish football fans and questioned whether the Ministers saw a correlation between “the riots of the Turkish football fans and the failing integration of these people in our community.” The faction also asked whether the fans would be presented the bill for the chaos they caused.