CarlJunglebhoy brings the local story on the Amsterdam fracas….
I’ve lived in Amsterdam since 1980, but been Sellic daft all my life: I saw my first match at age 4 from the Jungle in 1959 (calculator handy?!). I’ve worked for some considerable time (cough) for The World’s Largest Selling Weekly News Magazine, ‘though not actually as a journalist.
After the 1st leg at Celtic Park, I challenged the Amsterdam local TV/Media group AT5 on a story which had the ludicrous headline “Ajax fans the best away fans ever” attributed to an unnamed “Celtic official”, and sent them links to stories showing all the trouble they’d caused in Glasgow before and during the match. I had a heated debate (in Dutch) with Ajax fans about this, but gave up when they stubbornly kept coming up with excuses claiming everything was due to provocation by Celtic fans. However, fair dues to AT5 – They immediately replaced that story with 2 new ones showing the true story/other side of the coin, and even took the trouble to tweet their thanks for the tips.
http://www.at5.nl/artikelen/113467/ajaxfans-gooiden-met-stoeltjes – which contains a link to the original story …and….
http://www.at5.nl/artikelen/113491/schotse-politie-onderzoekt-gedrag-ajax-aanhang
The exchange of tweets I had with AT5 about this on 23 Oct are on Twitter @CarlJungleBhoy
Now, it would be disingenuous of me not to make it absolutely clear from the start that this summary of the Amsterdam “trouble” is not actually based on personal , first hand, eyewitness evidence. – My son and I deliberately avoided going into the centre of town – which is what I’ve done every time Celtic have come to Holland for the last xx years (even if only for friendlies), because our instincts were telling us it could turn nasty. So, we ended up going straight to the ArenA and straight back home afterwards – and were in no mood after the match for talking or doing anything.
Now, let me be clear. I’m not condoning the action of those Celtic fans throwing bottles etc., but the reason things got out of hand is very simple: The Amsterdam authorities – and in particular the police specialist hooligan units – got their tactics totally and completely wrong! If they’d done their job properly by targeting and clamping down on the root cause of the problem – those hard core Ajax fans everybody knew were determined to cause trouble – this would not have happened. – Unless they were fast asleep for the 2 weeks running up to the match, they certainly had the intelligence and more than enough warning signs that major trouble was brewing – the poisonous atmosphere was tangible on every Ajax fan site – So what did they do? : Order up more police vans & put more riot squad units on standby.
The fact that this Ajax mob – I lost count at 80 – entirely escaped their notice in the most heavily policed part of the city on the relatively quiet Tuesday night before the match, reeks of total bloody incompetence (This was – as far as I can determine – the original 1st port of call for this footage) :-
http://www.geenstijl.nl/mt/archieven/2013/11/hooligans_breken_020_af.html
It also shows just what a bunch of cowardly, little shitbags these Ajax fans are – it was like a mob-handed version of the ”ring the bell – squoosh” game I played as a kid – but it is indicative of the type of incident & invective which sparked the trouble on the Wednesday. I could show you countless quotes that same night– even on reputable Dutch news websites – which illustrate this mentality (emphasis on mental): “Celtic fans have been mouthing off for weeks they got what they deserved” … “they get hit and now they go running away crying” – all of them blaming Celtic fans for stirring things up and displaying Ajax fans bravado on “showing who’s boss” in Amsterdam.
On the day of the match, the Burgemeester (Mayor) of Amsterdam, Eberhard Van der Laan, used his powers to issue a “noodbevel” / a special emergency order, authorizing police to arrest anyone they suspected might be a danger to public order. Curiously, local news reports at the time suggest this was NOT aimed at Celtic fans, but fans of other clubs also expected to congregate in the centre of Amsterdam: This is a direct translation – see the heading “Noodbevel” from the Dutch newspaper Het Parool’s online pages below- “The noodbevel applies to supporters of the German club St. Pauli and the Belgian club Anderlecht and supporters of Dinamo Zagreb who have no ticket and are located in the capital ” :-
So, instead of concentrating their energies in providing a protective ring around those Celtic fans gathering in Dam square before the match, keeping an eye out for small groups joining from the various side-streets – which would have been do-able with visible back-up from the local regular uniformed police on the street corners leading to the square, what did the specialist police decide to do? They thought it would be much more clever (/fun?) to infiltrate the Celtic fans undercover in large numbers – conveniently ignoring the fact that with tensions already strung tight, small crowds of plain clothes cops either silent or whispering under their collars in Dutch, was hardly likely to deflate tensions – and then rely on the M.E (=Mobile Eenheid / Riot Police), including their mounted divisions, plus an increased number of police van units, with even more on standby, to handle things if/when trouble broke out.
The incident which sparked things off was also totally predictable. Everybody knew the Ajax hard core were livid about getting one of their flags stolen (& waved at them upside down) 2 weeks earlier at Celtic Park. Their fan websites were all rife with messages swearing revenge, which surely couldn’t have escaped the notice of the police’s so-called, “intelligence” officers? Sure, you can argue a case that it was foolish of Celtic fans to go chasing after Ajax fans who stole their flag, but let’s be honest. – If you had a drink in you and some wee shit nicked your flag would you stand still and grin and bear it? Bearing in mind what had happened the previous night and the warnings – even from the official Celtic site – to be on their guard – it’s hardly surprising Celtic fans retaliated against those in their midst with Dutch accents (and the absence of Celtic colours), is it? How were they supposed to tell the difference between an undercover cop and an Ajax casual intent on stirring things up? In the circumstances, if you saw a fellow Tim surrounded by and kicking out against blokes in plain clothes, would you immediately assume he was a hooligan deservedly getting arrested by undercover cops? I don’t seenk so!
When I first found out what had happened I was absolutely beeling. I mailed an old mate of mine in Glasgow who I knew had been at the Dam (he’ll also be at St Mary’s on Saturday!!) – He’d actually phoned me earlier in the week suggesting we get together for a bevvy, but , as I knew I was going to have to work all of last week until after 5, and planning to go home to eat first then straight to the
match with my son, I “rainchecked” on that. I didn’t actually see him at the match either, but that’s another story. Anyway, it was him who gave me the gist about what happened, and after checking this out in all sorts of directions (I’m pretty fluent in Dutch), this suggested a very different course of events from what the Scottish MSM were keen to trumpet. This included confirmation from the local newspaper het Parool that, of the 44 people arrested in the centre of Amsterdam, 16 were Ajax fans (see last paragraph below ) :-
Now, I’m not really sure what’s reached the public in the UK, but the following piece of film – first uploaded by Dutch Ultras – shows plain clothes undercover agents kicking the shit out of Celtic fans and is a really critical piece in understanding the chronology of events. This also backs ups what I’d heard from my mate who was on the Dam.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-k–IWFBIg
But, don’t just take my word for it – I admit to being biased. This is how a Dutch Ultras website – the ones who uploaded that film to You tube – actually described the incidents which sparked the “riot”.
“Yesterday the media were full of reports about the outrageous and brutal way in which a group of Celtic supporters in the heart of Amsterdam chased an undercover cop until he ran onto a lamppost, fell to the ground, then, after being set upon by a horde of angry Scottish hooligans, ended up in hospital.
“But sometimes the nuances are hidden under the media’s sensationalism. They’d much rather show hooligans misbehaving than the dubious actions of the agents themselves. Just before that agent was chased, there was another incident which the (Dutch mainstream TV program -CJB) Hart Van Nederland would be less keen to show. This mistreatment happened just before an agent went nuts on a defenseless prisoner and kept kicking the boy . And you can also ask the question whether even that arrest was justified. – Shortly before that, Ajax fans had a stolen a flag from Celtic supporters who went chasing after it. The police then seized the thief by his throat, which caused an unbelievable uproar and caused confusion and alarm among the Celtic supporters. If the police had let the thief get away, it’s possible the riot that followed could have been avoided (<that’s the ultra’s speaking, not me! – CJB) – On the square at that time there were only ” hats and scarves” (normal supporters , not hooligans ) of Celtic present. The police then began to charge into the Celtic supporters, unprovoked, and started arresting them, during which 1 detainee was brutally tortured by the undercover agent people. Celtic Football Club is asking for an investigation into the police violence and the outrageous way the city of Amsterdam has received her guests.”
Now, if that’s how Dutch Ultras – who are not exactly pro-Celtic – describe it, surely there’s no doubt that fall of that undercover cop was the first step in a domino-effect like chain of events, from which Celtic fans were part of the reaction/effect, but definitely not the cause? Is it any wonder that immediately after all this had gone down that bottles were thrown , then riot police led charges into the crowds? So, whilst some Celtic fans are hardly totally blameless, many were clearly victims here. – BTW. Anybody who lives in Amsterdam will tell you that the M.E (riot police) – once on standby- are always itching to get in there and – once deployed – are indiscriminate about who they hurt. Also worth noting is that in their day jobs the M.E. are just normal cops who’ve undergone special riot training, so the undercover units were also their colleagues. –Their orders were to separate rival fan groups and disperse the crowds from the Dam – which they did successfully – but causing even more disorder than before things started!
On that point, I also phoned an ex-colleague of mine – An Ajax fan who works in local radio, and asked him what he’d heard about it. According to him, there was a rumour going round that a number of people – including the Burgemeester himself, plus a senior police officer in Den Haag – have been asking for explanation from the Amsterdam police on how things managed to get out of hand so quickly, and apparently have even had a ”post-mortem” meeting. I’ve also emailed V/D Laan myself in Dutch, sharing what I’ve heard and making my own feelings known, but I’ve not had a reply yet.
I’ll be surprised if the Dutch police own up to having made a total balls of things, but nevertheless it’s pretty clear to many people – even here in Amsterdam – that much of the blame for what’s happened, and the untold damage it’s done to Celtic supporters reputation, can be placed firmly at their door.
The simple fact is the trouble was not started by Celtic fans. It’s also conveniently forgotten that the instigators – a small group of Ajax fans (+/- 12 I hear) were also arrested in Dam Square. Sure, far too many Celtic fans (over)-reacted violently to the heavy handed police tactics needed to keep a lid on things – the M.E (riot police) were sent in by the specialist units to break things up, but only after the undercover units had already ballsed things up big time. They got it very badly wrong. However you choose to paint it, the root cause of the problem – and much of the blame – lies not with the Celtic fans, but the police & authorities who, with their totally misjudged tactics, failed to offer Celtic fans proper protection, exacerbated the situation by ramping up the tension and actually served to fan the flames, rather than douse out the sparks before they could ignite. I realise this comparison is stretching things a bit too far, but a deliberate policy of blaming everything on the fans, to cover up all their own faults, isn’t exactly new in the world of policing , now is it?
Spot on. Sad as up to last week I had a soft spot for Ajax. I’ve been to Amsterdam on 4 occasions but would think twice about going back.
BREAKING NEWS!* – I’m over the proverbial forking natural satellite of the earth, to find that today – for the first time – the Dutch MSM are now telling the true story of what happened (which mirrors the above). The Volkskrant – a mainstream newspaper – now have a version of the story which is so pro-Celtic you’d think I’d written it myself – Naw! – I didn’t, ‘though I have been emailing, posting & tweeting like mad to the Volkskrant , AT5 , Parool & others trying to get the message through.
The Celtic Trust, amongst others, have done a fantastic job standing up for Celtic fans reputation and now – RESULT!
Hail Hail. Keep The Faith. YNWA etc. etc.
The article:-
http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/3544580/2013/11/14/Celtic-fans-politie-in-Amsterdam-mishandelde-ons-op-de-Dam.dhtml
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Translated from Dutch to double dutch… Btw. You can try the google translate version, but mine is better (honest!:-)
“CELTIC FANS : POLICE IN AMSTERDAM ASSAULTED US ON DAM SQUARE
Fans of the Scottish football club Celtic are angry over the violent crackdown by the Amsterdam police prior to the Champions League match against Ajax. In addition to eight policemen, dozens of Celtic fans were injured in the brawl at the Dam. The Scots have in recent days collected footage to show that the police acted incredibly hard.
‘We were already on our guard following warnings on the official club website’, says Jeanette Findlay, director of Celtic Trust, a kind of union for the fans, “We knew that the Ajax Supporters have a bad reputation. What we did not know is that the same applies to the Dutch police. Even the Scottish police were shocked by these images”
On the afternoon of Wednesday November 6 the Dam was the central point for song and “brotherhood”, with groups of smiling M.E (riot police) watching over around 2000 friendly,beer-drinking Celtic fans. The Scots are among the friendliest supporters in Europe. In 2003 they won the FIFA Fair Play Award after 60 thousand Celtic fans had rooted for their team in Seville – some not even at the match – without having even one single arrest!
Later there arose a disturbance, involving Celtic supporters and dozens of plainclothes agents, which ended in a riot. Things started to wrong in the late afternoon – A group of Ajax fans ran off with a Celtic flag, chased by the owner of the banner. The police jumped into the fray and fighting broke out. Tens of undercover police in plain clothes were involved in the melee. This acted like a red rag to a bull to the Celtic fans, who wrongly assumed that the plain clothes policeman were also Ajax hooligans.
A day earlier fifty Scottish fans were attacked in the pub The Old Sailor on the Oudezijdsachterburgwal. Images from security cameras show around two hundred masked Ajax hooligans smashing the windows of the pub with hammers, and attacking the Scots inside.
But the Scots still preferred mingling at Dam square, to confronting Ajax hooligans on the streets. The images taken by Celtic fans show two plainclothes keeping a young fan under control, whilst a third agent knees him in the stomach. Nearby a policeman is seen holding onto another fan, whilst a German Shepherd police-dog bites the fan on the leg.
Another Scot was run over by a police-van and broke his leg in three places, but didn’t seek medical help, because he was scared of getting arrested. He waited until he was home in Glasgow before reporting going to hospital for treatment. He is one of dozens wounded Scottish fans.
In the film shown here, we see Celtic fans showering the police with glass, in an attempt (in their words) to stop their friends being arrested. This is what the police later described as “an attack out of nowhere”. Eight policemen were injured, one of whom was knocked unconscious. Ten Scots were arrested. Two of these, Padraig M. and Andrew V. are still currently under arrest accused of (the equivalent of-CJB) grevious bodily harm against a police agent and will appear before the judge on 21 November.
Absolutely brilliant Carl, all your hard work was worth it. Thanks for sharing. HH
perhaps if the authorities had closed dam sq ,and not allowed the mass takeover,and had restricted the sale of mass amounts of cheap low quality euro fizz from shops,it could have been avoided I walked around the square a few times on my way to bars unlikely to attract attention from Ajax fans,and 24 packs and crates of what passes for beer were being taken to the square in vast amounts,I was passing through when the first scuffles broke out and saw a group of fans heading up a street where a police van was parked when cans and bottles started flying,then I heard what I at first thought was tear gas being launched but as no gas seemed to be around i,m not sure what the police deployed,when i returned later the whole square had been cleared , don’t get this mass occupation of an area though I assume a lot of the fans might have been too young to get served in bars
Breaking news 2…
http://www.at5.nl/artikelen/115505/burgemeester-wacht-op-feitenrelaas-voetbalgeweld
Paranoid, there’s somthing going on.
Well written and researched I met with the Dutch ambassador briefly while handing over a letter from FAC at a protest in Dublin yesterday. I will post something latter on social media and our own website about the protest and conversation.
Cheers M8!. There was a tidier version with slightly fewer typos, but it got “lost in the post” whilst rushing to get the story out. BTW. The original tile was AmsterDAMned… but The Lost Bhoys had just posted something using the same title (great minds/fools?), so we needed to change that.
We did toy with the idea of “Red Light Spells Danger”, but some black chap called Billy, with funny big protruding teeth claimed copyright infringement. Also “Lies, DAM Lies, and StatisTICS” would apparently leave us open to prosecution under the official secret act.
Nah. serious though: The important thing is that the truth got a fair hearing, in amongst all he anti-Celtic rhetoric in the Scottish MSM. If I’ve helped even a tiny wee molecule level bit in doing that, that’s more than enough reward for me
“well written”? Thtas a next point. But, but m’day fancy a swatch at a cuppla tung in cheek fings wot I av rotan >10 years ago furra sellic rightin contest –
check http://carljunglebhoy.blog.co.uk/
Thtats a next poitn? I think meant newt or was it moot. I’m genuinely dyslexic btw