Explosive attacks target FC Utrecht security guards after intervention in riots: report

A series of explosive attacks on two homes in Nieuwegein and IJsselstein may be directly connected with football supporter riots in the FC Utrecht stadium in May this year. Security personnel working for FC Utrecht live in the targeted homes, AD discovered.

On May 26, a match between FC Utrecht and Go Ahead Eagles in Utrecht got out of hand when supporters tried to storm the field twice. Security guards were forced to intervene. According to AD, GA Eagles supporters believe that the Utrecht security was too hardhanded with at least one Galgenwaard visitor.

In the months that followed, criminals repeatedly attacked two addresses in the region: a house in the Zenderpark district of IJsselstein and a home in the Fokkesteeg district in Nieuwegein.

On June 4, two men on a scooter threw an explosive at the home in IJsselstein, but it didn’t go off. Two days later, it happened again. Mayor Patrick van Doesburg of IJsselstein closed the home because “the police have detailed information that the house may be of interest to people with criminal intentions.” On July 27, explosives were thrown at the home in Nieuwegein. The police said that the two cases were related.

Recently, explosives were again found at both addresses. The police arrested one suspect in Nieuwegein and two in IJsselstein. Both homes were closed again for two weeks.

Research by AD showed that the residents of the two targeted addresses both work in security. According to the newspaper, a lawsuit in which the residents challenged the decision to close their homes confirmed the link with FC Utrecht. The victims and lawyers refused to respond to the newspaper’s questions.