The frustration was great – and in some cases it erupted in violence. During riots after Feyenoord Rotterdam’s final defeat in the Conference League, the 0-1 loss to AS Roma, there were 72 arrests in the Dutch port city on Thursday night, according to police reports. Two emergency services were slightly injured, as the Dutch broadcaster NOS also reported. A bus and a tram were damaged, the police used water cannons. The situation calmed down around 1:00 a.m.
“Heavy destruction” was caused in several areas of Rotterdam, said a police spokesman. As reported by the ANP news agency, angry Feyenoord supporters threw firecrackers and flares around and threw stones, glasses and bottles at police officers.
Numerous football fans watched the final in Tirana in Rotterdam on Wednesday evening, and there was also a public viewing at the Feyenoord stadium De Kuip.
In Tirana, on the other hand, after the riots on Wednesday night, it was apparently largely quiet, as NOS reported, also citing the local police. The police in the Albanian capital had announced that they wanted to prevent further incidents with a massive deployment.
The night before the final, there were riots between the police and fan groups from Rome and Rotterdam. According to agency information, 19 police officers and five other people were injured. A police officer was reportedly injured with a knife. 48 Italian and 12 Dutch supporters were taken into custody and 80 fans were sent back to Italy.
