The Israeli fans instigated the violence after arriving in the city and attacking Palestinian supporters before the match, an Amsterdam city council member said.
“They began attacking houses of people in Amsterdam with Palestinian flags, so that’s actually where the violence started,” Councilman Jazie Veldhuyzen told Al Jazeera on Friday.
“As a reaction, Amsterdammers mobilised themselves and countered the attacks that started on Wednesday by the Maccabi hooligans.”
He said he saw locals trying to counter the violence started against them and their properties by Israeli fans.
Israeli “hooligans” chanted songs swearing at Arabs, saying, “There are no schools in Gaza because there are no children left.’”
Israeli political commentator Ori Goldberg told Al Jazeera the incident showed that the Israeli narrative had taken over Europe.
“The fact that Israeli fans riot in the middle of Amsterdam, sing racist songs and climb the walls of homes to tear down Palestinian flags … is part of the Israeli condition at the moment: A complete detachment between actions and consequences,” he said.
According to Veldhuyzen, the council member, “The mayor says the police did act, but I would say they acted not at the right moments.”
He told Al Jazeera: “They acted only to protect the Maccabi hooligans when Amsterdammers stood up to defend their own people and defend their own houses. And this is when the police showed up to protect the Maccabi fans when they ran away after attacking people.”
Goldberg, the Israeli political commentator, said Israel’s reaction to the clashes reflected a “complete rejection of the notion that actions have consequences” given the Israeli fans’ actions in Amsterdam.