AFP
NOS News•
The police lifted eleven members of the hard core of Feyenoord from their beds this morning. “At eleven home addresses, the front door went out with a bang this morning,” said the Rotterdam police. They are men between the ages of 21 and 36 from Rotterdam, The Hague, Arnemuiden, Uden and Rijswijk.
The men are suspected of threats, insults, intimidation and arson. They have been arrested for involvement in, among other things, the shocking banners that were displayed at the Conference League final in Tirana last year. They are also suspected of vandalizing the house of Alderman Simons and vandalism and arson at a gym.
Listen to the episode here The hard core from podcast The Shadow Spire.
The banners displayed to the public in Tirana and on social media carried crude insults and death threats against Mayor Aboutaleb, his daughter and Paul van Dorst. The latter is chairman of the Pink Comrades, a group of Feyenoord supporters who identify as LGBTI people.
A team of detectives from the Rotterdam police was specially released for this purpose and spent a year and a half investigating football-related crimes. Last year, 45 suspects were already arrested for this.
We must deal with people who ruin football for the ordinary, good supporter from all sides as much as possible.
With this new approach, the detective team has not only solved committed crimes, but also prevented new crimes, the team leader believes. For example, disruption of a demonstration could have been prevented by standing in a strategic place with a police force at an early stage. More arrests are not ruled out.
In addition to criminal prosecution, the KNVB is also looking into whether a stadium ban can be imposed. “We have to deal with people who ruin football for the ordinary, good supporter from all sides as much as possible,” said the leader of the investigation team.
