The city of Amsterdam, still reeling from violent clashes between Israeli soccer fans and pro-Palestinian Arab protesters earlier this month, announced on Tuesday that no traveling fans will be permitted at Ajax Amsterdam's Europa League home game against Italian club Lazio on December 12, Reuters reported.
"Supporters of Lazio Rome are not welcome in Amsterdam... The risk of extreme-right, antisemitic, racist expressions and disturbances is too high," the municipality said in a statement quoted by the news agency.
The Dutch capital’s decision follows the violent November 8 attacks on fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv following a Europa League match against Ajax. Dozens of Israeli fans were assaulted, with five requiring hospitalization for their injuries.
"Some supporters of Lazio are known for their extreme right and fascist sympathies as well as for their antisemitic and racist expressions," the city of Amsterdam said, as quoted by Reuters.
"On Nov. 7 and 8, Amsterdam was spooked by the fierce violent incidents surrounding the Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer game (...) There's no room for expressions of racism and fascism in Amsterdam," the statement added.
Lazio has a history of incidents involving fan misconduct. The club has faced fines for racist and antisemitic behavior by some of its supporters.
In September, several Lazio fans were banned from attending a Europa League match against Dynamo Kyiv in Hamburg after German police confiscated weapons.
In March, an Italian fan was arrested in Munich for performing an Adolf Hitler salute before Lazio's match against Bayern Munich.
In April of last year, Lazio was issued a suspended partial stadium ban over antisemitic chants sung by its supporters at a home game.
Anti-Israel demonstrations in Amsterdam continued in the days after the November 8 pogrom, despite restrictions that were put in place banning protests following the violence.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof has strongly condemned the pogrom, describing it as “purely antisemitic violence” and asserting that there is “no justification for the intentional targeting of Jews.”
Last week, Dutch Interior Minister Judith Uitermark claimed that Dutch security authorities had not yet found evidence or proof of Israel's advance warnings of the pogrom in Amsterdam.
After the pogrom against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, Israel claimed it had intelligence information about plans for a pogrom and that this information was passed on to Dutch colleagues, who, for their part, did not do anything to prepare for such an event, as had been expected of them.