Abusive chants against the "Jews' Association": Football scandal in Amsterdam

Around the match between Ajax Amsterdam and AZ Alkmaar, there were anti-Semitic chants – and 154 arrests. © MB Media Solutions / Matthias Koch / Imago

Ajax Amsterdam had to play against AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie. 154 away fans did not come to the stadium – because of a new anti-Semitism scandal.

Amsterdam – For the first time in four years, the Dutch football champions will not be called Ajax Amsterdam. After the 0-0 draw against AZ Alkmaar, the last train has left for the record champions. But the really sad story behind this goalless draw is different.

Anti-Semitism in Dutch football: fans arrested after chants

What happened? It was the big chasing duel in the Eredivisie on Saturday night. Ajax, in third place, awaited the fourth-placed team from Alkmaar at Amsterdam's Johan Cruijff Arena. However, some away fans did not even come to the stadium. Because: The Dutch police had previously arrested them.

According to official figures, 154 Alkmaar supporters had behaved so badly that the officials had no other choice. Several times, the police had asked the people to refrain from their anti-Semitic chants on their metro ride to the southeast of Amsterdam. But the self-proclaimed fans just kept going.

Anti-Semitism scandal in the Netherlands? Sad everyday life

An hour and a half before the start of the game (19 p.m.), the train was finally stopped just outside the arena in Amsterdam. The Alkmaar supporters are also accused of insulting other groups. In addition to some metro cars, one of the transport buses is said to have been damaged by the detainees on the way to the prison. Even during the ride, the fans are said to have continued their chants.

So, from a sober point of view, this is a real scandal. In football Holland, nothing more than sad everyday life.

Ajax Amsterdam is the "Jews' Association": Tasteless chants are the order of the day

Anti-Semitism is an astonishingly present topic in Dutch football. Ajax Amsterdam is referred to as a "Jewish club" in our neighbouring country, and fans of the competition – almost no matter from which club – almost constantly allude to it with tasteless chants.

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Perhaps not always as offensive as the Alkmaar fans are now in public. Nevertheless, anti-Semitism resonates permanently. By the way, not only with the fans.

Lex Immers suspended for five games after "Jew hunt" song

In 2011, Lex Immers, then a player for Ado Den Haag, was suspended for five games for singing the song "We're going on a hunt for Jews" after a win against Ajax.

Hans Knoop, a Jewish journalist and spokesman for a foundation that fights anti-Semitism in Dutch football, told Der Spiegel at the time: "The opposing fans are not necessarily anti-Semitic, but they are against Ajax. And if Ajax are the Jews, then they must be against the Jews."

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AZ Alkmaar did not initially respond to the arrests

There was initially no comment from AZ Alkmaar. Even in the major Dutch media, there was hardly anything to read about the arrests on the evening of the match and the morning after. Deliberate downplaying or already so sadly normal that the topic no longer becomes an issue at all? Against this background, it is clear that Dutch football has a huge problem in this respect.

The sad fate of PSV press spokesman Thijs Sleegers has also attracted a lot of attention. (akl)