Morocco fans hope for more World Cup celebrations against France

Morocco’s fans are gearing up for one of the biggest matches in their footballing history as they aim to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the second tournament in a row.

The African champions, who knocked the Netherlands out on penalties in the round of 32, take on France in Boston on Friday evening after beating host nation Canada 3-0.

But they will have to do it without their leading goalscorer Ismael Saibari after the former PSV Eindhoven striker was taken off with a suspected hamstring strain after just 20 minutes of the match.

The victory against Canada sparked scenes of jubilation in Dutch cities including Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, as fans waving flags and sounding car horns brought traffic to a standstill. Fireworks were set off in neighbourhoods as thousands of people came out into the streets.

Right-wing coalition party VVD tabled a motion in parliament last week calling for fines to be raised for “unnecessary hooting” in traffic, which was supported by a majority of MPs, though no vote was taken.

VVD MP Bart Bikker said car horns were not intended to be used for celebrations. “These kinds of cases can lead to unsafe situations in traffic,” he said.

The celebrations on Saturday evening were largely good-natured, but police made several dozen arrests and used water cannon to clear a crowd in the Schilderswijk area of The Hague.

A total of 25 fines were issued after city mayor Jan van Zanen issued an order warning people not to “manifest themselves in any way as persons wanting to disturb public order” at 11pm.

Fireworks and scooters

Two police officers were injured when fireworks were thrown at them, while a traffic supervisor was struck by a car. Altogether 29 people were arrested in the city.

Streets were closed off around Plein ’40-’45 in Amsterdam and tram services suspended as hundreds of supporters on scooters and motorbikes filled the square.

Three people were hurt on Slotermeerlaan when a scooter collided with a fatbike. The 18-year-old scooter rider was arrested and found to be riding without a licence. The vehicle had been reported as stolen.

Ten arrests were made in Rotterdam and Dordrecht, while in Utrecht cars were set on fire and bus stops damaged in the Lombok, Kanaleneiland and Overvecht districts.

In Leiden, fans turned out to celebrate around the Lammermarkt, where the atmosphere was described as festive. But later in the Kooilaan area police said they were pelted with fireworks, stones and glass, and used dogs to disperse a crowd. No arrests were made.