“50 Arabs were waiting for us with knives and clubs,” say Israeli soccer fans in Amst

In another incident, Dutch citizens of Turkish and Moroccan descent gathered outside an Amsterdam casino waiting for Maccabi fans. Around 1:30 a.m., two fans entered the casino with visible injuries and blood on their faces.

Security immediately locked down the casino and told the Israelis to go downstairs, as about 50 people were waiting outside, reportedly armed with knives and sticks. “About half an hour later, about seven police vehicles arrived,” said a witness. “The police started taking us out in small groups by an alternative route to avoid the attackers. They didn't have a clear solution – they just told us, 'Go away and hope everything works out.'”

“We set off in small groups. The whole situation was surreal. The city is full of Palestinian flags and almost every taxi driver is Arab. When they realize you're Israeli, there's a lot of hostility,” said Or Shponder, a fan currently in Amsterdam. The first riots reportedly began when an Arab taxi driver claimed he had been attacked, sparking many of the riots that followed, largely instigated by taxi drivers of Arab descent.

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