Video: Dutch football fans fight with England supporters outside Dortmund restaurant
A mostly peaceful gathering of roughly 100,000 Dutch football supporters turned nasty for a brief moment in the Dortmund city center. A small group of Netherlands fans who were taunted by England supporters outside of a restaurant reacted violently ahead of a 9 p.m. European Championship semifinal match in the German city.
The incident happened outside of a Sausalitos franchise restaurant on the Kleppingstrasse, the street which earlier served as the starting point for the Oranje Fan March to the stadium. Several people were injured, and there were multiple arrests. About 100,000 people joined the four kilometer march, according to German police.
Witnesses told German news outlet Ruhr24 that England fans waved their Saint George's Cross flag and made obscene gestures at the Dutch fans as they walked past. The Dutch fans responded with their own obscenities, the news site said.
Videos from the scene did not show how the situation escalated from there, but the violence was clear. People dressed in orange threw punches and hurled wooden barstools and glasses at the crowd outside the restaurant. Inside the restaurant were England and Turkey fans, but also some Dutch fans. At the entryway, another person could be seen throwing a glass back at the Dutch crowd. Someone also overturned a large flatscreen television in anger.
As the situation seemed to quiet down, another group of Dutch people began throwing punches and furniture at people who emerged from inside the restaurant. Dortmund police stepped in to quell the violence. At least two Dutch football fans were seen being taken into custody. One news reporter at the location said about ten people were arrested, but police have yet to confirm an official figure.
Paramedics treated many injured people at the scene, according to Westfälische Rundschau. It was not immediately clear if anybody was hospitalized.
The football stadium holds about 80,000 people, and roughly 10,000 ticket holders are Dutch supporters, according to the KNVB. The Dutch Fan Zone near the stadium was packed with about 43,000 people, and was no longer allowing others inside.
A second fan zone at Friedensplatz was also full, with about 6,500 people there. The limit was reached around 2 p.m.
The Westfälische Rundschau newspaper said it was not clear if Dortmund was well prepared for so many football fans. The situation was becoming chaotic around Friedensplatz, and Dutch fans were left wandering around desperately looking for a place to watch the match. Most bars in the city were full.
