‘Too much force by police at football game’

The police used an ‘unacceptable’ degree of force and made an unnecessary number of arrests during the football match between Rotterdam’s Feyenoord and Amsterdam’s Ajax in April 2006, according to a report by the national ombudsman published on Tuesday.

The report also criticises the treatment of the 799 Feyenoord supporters who were held for hours without food, drink or toilet facilities, reports the NRC.
But Rotterdam mayor Ivo Opstelten and his police chief have defended the actions of the police and are quoted by the Volkskrant as saying they had been ‘necessary and successful’.
The ombudsman, Alex Brenninkmeijer, concluded that public order was maintained but that the ‘price was too high’.
Feyenoord supporters want an apology from the police.