Video: Ajax fans sent to jail after attacking London cop
Four Amsterdam men were sentenced to jail by a British court for causing an affray and assaulting a police officer before a Champions League match between Ajax and Tottenham Hotspur in London on April 30th. The four Ajax fans are also banned from attending football matches in the United Kingdom for six years, the local police said in a statement.
Suspects Marvin K., Stefan T., Fahd A., and Boy Patrick Calvin F. formed part of a group of Ajax fans who clashed with Tottenham fans in London before the match. According to the police, the Ajax supporters broke up pieces of pavement and threw it at opposing fans. A fight broke out, during which the two groups of football fans launched bottles, bricks and concrete slabs at each other. A total of three police officers were assaulted while trying to calm the situation. One man was hit on the head by a glass bottle, sustaining a fractured skull and a bleed on his brain.
According to the police, K. was at the forefront of the disorder, goading opposing fans and continually throwing objects at them. A. and T. were both seen wrapping belts around their hands to use as weapons, covering their faces, and throwing bricks and lumps of paving at police and opposing fans. F. "launched an unprovoked attack on an officer, punching him in the back of a head", the police said. He also attempted to attack another officer.
Marvin K., Stefan T., and Fahd A. were sentenced to 20 weeks in jail for affray. F. was sentenced to 28 weeks in jail for affray and assaulting a police officer. All four are banned from attending football matches in the UK for six years.
"The sentences handed to these individuals should send a clear message to any fans attending matches here in London - whether from the UK or overseas - that violence and disorder will not be tolerated", police officer Matt Ashmead from the Met's Central Football Unit said. "I hope this case deters anyone else considering carrying out such violent, criminal acts. We have a team dedicated to identifying and arresting those causing violence at these matches, and we will continue to bring offenders to justice."
