Amsterdam riot police make arrests following soccer violence

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AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Riot police in Amsterdam on Monday evening arrested several people during another eruption of violence sparked by a soccer match between Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv and local team Ajax on Thursday.

A police spokesman said a tram at the ’40-’45 Square in the west part of Amsterdam had caught fire, likely caused by fireworks thrown at it. The windows of the tram were shattered.

No one was injured in the incident, as the tram had been empty, the spokesman said.

Footage on local TV station AT5 showed many people on the square throwing fireworks, poles and wooden pallets.

Police urged people to stay away from the square and said riot squads would remain present to restore peace.

The riots come after days of unrest in the Dutch capital, where early on Friday Israeli soccer fans were attacked in what Dutch authorities and a range of foreign leaders have denounced as acts of antisemitism.

Maccabi fans on Wednesday attacked a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag in Amsterdam. On the day of the game, Maccabi supporters were filmed chanting anti-Arab slogans in videos verified by Reuters.

(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch, Hilde Verweij and Bart Meijer in Amsterdam; Editing by Sandra Maler)