Riots in
The Hague blended far right with football hooliganism
September
22, 2025
https://www.dutchnews.nl/2025/09/riots-in-the-hague-blended-far-right-with-football-hooliganism/
Saturday’s
riots in The Hague were co-ordinated by football hooligans operating under the
banner of far-right organisations such as Defend Netherlands, experts on
political violence have told Dutch media.
Around
1,200 demonstrators clashed with police, throwing stones, bottles and fireworks
and setting vehicles on fire, as an anti-immigration demonstration on the
Malieveld rapidly turned ugly.
A
breakaway group headed towards the Binnenhof parliamentary complex, which is
currently being renovated, smashing the windows of liberal party D66’s offices
along the way. Police have made 37 arrests so far and say four officers were
injured in the riots.
City
mayor Jan van Zanen described the rioters as “groups of hooligans from all over
the country” who “deliberately sought to confront the police” and used “extreme
violence”.
Many of
the rioters wore black, covered their faces and used co-ordinated “hit and run”
tactics to attack police, which are common in football violence. Some carried
Dutch flags bearing the names of clubs including Cambuur Leeuwarden and NAC
Breda, or towns with strong hooligan presences such as Alkmaar, Groningen and
The Hague.
Nazi
flags and salutes
But the
riots also had a political dimension: demonstrators chanted anti-asylum slogans
and “wij zijn Nederland” (we are the Netherlands), made Nazi salutes and
carried banners with the slogans “remigratie” and “send them home“.
Some of
the flags had the orange band of the Prinsjesvlag, the forerunner of the modern
Dutch tricolour that was favoured by the pre-war Dutch Nazi party NSB.
One
banner read: “Clubrivaliteit aan de kant. Red Nederland.” [“Put our club
rivalries aside and save the Netherlands.”]
Van Zanen
said there was no evidence to support claims by some right-wing commenters that
the Antifa movement, which the Dutch parliament last week voted to proscribe as
a terrorist organisation, had infiltrated the demonstration.
However,
the ultra-nationalist Defend Netherlands organisation, which emerged during the
coronavirus pandemic and was involved in violent anti-lockdown demonstrations,
was prominent at the protests.
Political
ecosystem
Willemijn
Kadijk, a researcher specialising in polarisation and radical movements, told
AD.nl after witnessing the demonstration: “I saw an ecosystem of groups who
think the Netherlands has to be protected.
“A
section of these people think action needs to be taken and think that that
legitimises violence against the police.”
The
rioters were not directly associated with the political demonstration organised
by the social media influencer Els Noort, known as “Els Rechts”, but there was
a clear overlap between the two.
“Els
Rechts” replied to a social media post by a group calling itself the Dutch
Hooligan Scene the day before the protest, announcing their attendance, with
the message: “See you tomorrow”.
Noort
condemned the violence immediately afterwards, saying attacks on police were
“not done” but said the rioting was “absolutely not my intention”.
“I am not
responsible for the things that went wrong, but I want to say that I am really
sickened by them,” she said.
Football
networks
Jacqueline
van Stekelenburg, chair of social change and conflict at the Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam, told AD.nl that three distinct groups were involved in the
demonstration and the riots.
“There
were people who responded to the appeal from Els Rechts and listened to the
speeches, there was a group consisting of far-right organisations, and another
section of hooligans who could be mobilised quickly through football networks,”
she said.
Far-right
politicians also moved quickly to disassociate themselves from the violence,
including PVV party leader Geert Wilders, who turned down an invitation to
speak at the event.
Wilders
described the rioters as “scum” who should be “dealt with severely”. But he
also attacked Frans Timmermans, leader of the left-wing alliance GL-PvdA, who
called the violence in The Hague “Trumpian scenes fuelled by politicians who
spread fear and division”.
Hate
speech
Finance
minister Eelco Heinen, of the right-wing liberal VVD, also dismissed the idea
that the rioting was politically motivated. “These were hooligans; it’s got
nothing to do with politics,” he said.
Heinen
was critical of D66 leader Rob Jetten, who denounced “politicians who engage in
hate speech” as he stood outside the offices of his party where the windows had
been boarded up after the attack. “We need politicians who bring people
together,” Heinen said.
Jetten
replied on TV current affairs show Buitenhof: “We can’t take this seriously.
They weren’t shouting ‘Come on ADO’ or ‘Come on FC Utrecht’, they were chanting
slogans about claiming the Netherlands.”
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