Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb is furious with the Feyenoord supporters who misbehaved in Berlin. Two people have been arrested for daubing the Berlin wall, while 58 Feyenoord hooligans have been arrested for wanting to fight. Aboutaleb late opposite it General Newspaper know that he is looking for a new approach to the problem. He calls the increasing number of incidents among a small part of the fanatical Feyenoord supporters ‘extremely disturbing’.
On Wednesday, two Feyenoord supporters were arrested by the police in Berlin. They are suspected of having defaced part of the Berlin Wall. The so-called East Side Gallery, a part of the wall that was painted by artists, has been sprayed over with graffiti and provided with the word ‘Feyenoord’. Two masked Dutch men aged 21 and 25 were arrested near the wall. They had paint residue on their hands and were in possession of several spray cans.
“Every time you think the low point has been reached, there is a new low point,” the mayor told the newspaper. “Imagine German fans coming here and painting Zadkine’s monument. How would we react then?”, Aboutaleb wonders. “You touch the historic heart of a city, a place that is so important to a city. And that’s what these guys have been painting on. It shows no historical awareness, it is only to harass the other. I am very scared.”
On Wednesday evening, dozens of Feyenoord hooligans were arrested, the German police confirmed to the newspaper. “They were intercepted in Kreuzberg and in Treptower Park with weighted gloves, fighting bits and balaclavas intended for a violent encounter. They also set off fireworks,” the spokesperson said. All 71 detainees are still in custody on Thursday. There is a good chance that they will not see the Conference League match Union Berlin – Feyenoord.
“Every time you want to talk about it in a nuanced way, because maybe one day a conversation is possible, a new low comes. I am slowly losing my sympathy for this group,” said Aboutaleb, who calls the developments “extremely disturbing”. “A stadium is stormed, people are intimidated at home, anti-Semitic paintings: it is excessive idiocy that has nothing to do with football. . We also have to stop talking to Feyenoord about it, because they can no longer be held accountable for this.”
Aboutaleb, together with the police, is trying to come up with a plan of action to reduce the incidents. For now, he calls on all Feyenoord supporters in Berlin to behave. “Applause for your club, enjoy it, go to the stadium properly and go home, because we would like to have you back in Rotterdam tomorrow. To the people who misbehaved, I say: I’m sorry that you have once again spoiled the name of Rotterdam,” said the mayor.