Over 12,000 football fans flock to Amsterdam arena, flouting coronavirus measures

Groups of no more than two people and avoid busy areas — unless you’re a football fan, apparently? Over 12,000 Ajax fans partied outside Johan Cruijff Arena Saturday after the Amsterdam club won its 35th national title.

So did the municipality intervene? Did police charge in to disperse the crowds? Nah. “To prevent disturbances and escalation of violence,” no action was taken to disperse the crowds.

Oh, wait, sorry — the municipality did ask people not to come to the stadium anymore.

But that’s fine because we’re sure all 12,000 of those drinking, partying football fans very carefully adhered to strict coronavirus regulations, danced in their own 1.5 square metre space, and washed their hands every half hour. Right guys?…Right?

Fans spread

The celebrations weren’t contained to the arena. Amsterdam’s city centre was also busy, with fans in Rembrandtplein and the Red Light District. People cheered, hugged, and celebrated when Ajax’s victory was announced, reports RTL Nieuws.

Leidseplein was relatively calm due to an emergency ordinance that was issued, while Museumplein was also relatively quiet. Regardless, 15 arrests were made around the city, mainly for people carrying fireworks and weapons.

Do you think the municipality should have taken more action? Tell us in the comments below!

Feature Image: brendangates/Flickr/CC2.0

Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺
Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺https://gallivantations.com
Sam has over six years experience writing about life in the Netherlands and leads the content team at DutchReview. She originally came to the Netherlands to study in 2016 and now holds a BA (Hons.) in Arts, a BA (Hons) in Journalism, and (almost) a Masters in Teaching. She loves to write about settling into life in the Netherlands, her city of Utrecht, learning Dutch, and jobs in the Netherlands — and she still can’t jump on the back of a moving bike (she's learning!).

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