Largely festive in Dutch cities after Morocco topples Portugal; Riot police intervene in The Hague
After Morocco’s national football team defeated Portugal 1-0 during the men’s World Cup in Qatar, jubilant fans filled the streets of several neighborhoods in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague. By 6:30 p.m., about an hour after the final whistle blew, the impromptu street parties were largely festive gatherings with few disturbances. In all three cities, riot police or tactical units were ready to intervene after the quarterfinal match if necessary.
The riot police made their first move against crowds in The Hague at about 7 p.m., where about a thousand people had descended on the Schilderswijk neighborhood, particularly the Vaillantlaan. Just like during past Morocco national team victories, volunteers were out on the street helping to keep young people festive and prevent any tensions from rising, according to Omroep West.
Bystanders told the newswire that some in the crowd were throwing fireworks at police officers there after police ordered people to leave the Vaillantstraat when an emergency order was issued there. The officers in formation began to march people towards the Hollands Spoor station. According to ANP, the police were also using canine units at the scene.
Many of the volunteers are parents in the neighborhood, some of whom helped keep traffic flowing despite the large group of fans. There were concerns because of the behavior of some of Morocco’s fans, particularly after the Round of 16 victory over Spain. In The Hague, like in other cities, police officers were pelted with heavy fireworks. Shared scooters from companies operating in the Schilderswijk area were not allowed to be parked on the street there as long as the area was considered high risk. That was the same in some other cities.
Similar to The Hague, police in Amsterdam said it was starting to get a bit tense around 7 p.m., but it was overall jubilant. Several football fans were arrested for detonating fireworks bombs. It was not immediately clear how many people had been arrested.
"In general there is a good atmosphere, but there are also places in the city where heavy fireworks are being set off and we do not classify that as a good atmosphere," a police spokesperson told ANP.
About 500 fans turned out in the Mercatorplein in Amsterdam, which was designated a security risk ahead of the Saturday afternoon match. Parties turned into low level rioting on the square after Morocco’s previous victories against Belgium, Canada, and Spain, with several people arrested during each post-game celebration.
It remained a largely festive start to the evening after Morocco held on to their lead to beat Portugal, despite falling to ten men in the last minutes of the match. “Morocco wins and is through to the semi-finals of the World Cup. We expect an upbeat atmosphere and we ask everyone who takes to the streets to take their fellow Amsterdammers into account,” police said soon after.
Thus far, few fireworks were heard in the area, and people mainly danced through the smoke created by flares. Amsterdam broadcaster AT5 caught a moment when a police officer was cheered on by locals as he danced with them.
The Mercatorplein was largely closed to traffic, similar to the Kruisplein and Hofplein in Rotterdam. Several hundred fans also poured onto the street waving Morocco’s distinct red flag adorned with a green star, while others blasted their car or scooter horns.
Loud fireworks were set off from time to time, but overall the atmosphere was friendly, reported Rotterdam broadcaster Rijnmond. Some skirmishes broke out in Rotterdam during the Morocco team’s previous victories, but Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb urged city council not to demand disproportionate reactions to prior disturbances.
He pledged he would not effectively place the city under martial law for Saturday’s match, and insisted the public continue to carry on with their normal day, do the shopping, and have a bite to eat. “The measures we have in place have worked well so far. We need to take the disturbances seriously, but we should not overreact to the severity of it”, he said on Thursday.
There were also larger groups of celebratory people in the Lombok and Overvecht districts of Utrecht, according to ANP. There were also people hitting their car horns and waving the Morocco flag in Leiden, as well.
