Dutch and Turkish football fans clash after Euro 2024 quarter-finals in Berlin

Shortly after the quarter-final of the European Championship between the Netherlands and Turkey (2:1), riots broke out in the UEFA fan zone near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin as Dutch and Turkish fans clashed. They had been watching the match there because they could not get a ticket for the match in the Olympic Stadium.

The police quickly intervened, and the fan zone emptied. The Berlin police had deployed thousands of officers for the match and arrested an unknown number of people. In the stadium, Dutch and Turkish fans sat side by side in the stands, which did not cause any problems. After the match, the Dutch fans celebrated, while most Turkish supporters were proud of their national team despite their disappointment at the result.

Before the quarter-final, German police broke up a procession of Turkish football fans to Berlin's Olympic Stadium because the supporters continued to make the controversial "wolf salute." The police had already briefly stopped the procession early on Saturday afternoon because Turkish fans had made the gesture. Dozens of Turkish supporters also gave the wolf salute during the match.

The wolf salute is a symbol of the ultra-nationalist Turkish group Gray Wolves. Although the hand gesture is not banned in Germany, the police see it as a "political message". Therefore, a march of football fans should not be used to express this, the police said.

Thousands of Dutch fans also marched to the Olympic Stadium, singing and dancing. The police did not have to intervene in the orange-colored march. Oranje won the quarter-finals 2-1 and reached the semi-finals of a European Championship for the first time in 20 years.

Oranje has earned 18.75 million euros at the European Championships so far. UEFA will award 4 million euros to all semi-finalists of the European Championship in Germany.

The starting bonus for the tournament amounted to 9.25 million. The Netherlands earned 1.5 million euros with a win against Poland (2:1) and a draw against France (0:0). Oranje received 1.5 million euros for reaching the round of 16 and 2.5 million euros for getting to the quarter-finals.

The Netherlands will play England on Wednesday for a place in the final of the European Championship. The two finalists will receive 5 million euros, while the winner will receive 8 million euros. The total prize money for the European Championship in Germany amounts to 331 million euros. The money made by the Dutch national team will go to the KNVB.