ZCZC
BSP-05
FBL-EUR-C1-NETHERLANDS
140 fans arrested ahead of Ajax-Juventus clash
THE HAGUE, April 11, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – More than 140 football fans, mainly Juventus
supporters, were arrested for possession of dangerous objects ahead of Wednesday’s
Champions League quarter-final first leg between the Italian champions and Ajax in
Amsterdam, Dutch police said.
Two separate groups were stopped by authorities, with 46 supporters apprehended at a
metro station before another 61 arrests were made at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
Photos of a confiscated knife, fireworks, pepper spray, flares, a hammer and a baton
were handed out in a press release by law enforcement authorities in the Netherlands.
Italy’s interior minister Matteo Salvini earlier said on Facebook that 120 Juve fans
had been arrested but the number had not been verified.
“The suspects have been transferred to a detention centre by bus,” Amsterdam police
said.
Over 30 more arrests were made near an entrance to the stadium for home supporters
after fans set off fireworks, threw cobblestones and smashed windows, the Dutch news
agency ANP reported.
BSS/AFP/AU/08:40 hrs