Tzvi Kedar, a Maccabi Tel Aviv fan, who was injured after being brutally beaten in Amsterdam, recounted the terrifying moments he experienced.
"When we exited the metro after the game, nothing felt problematic. Suddenly, in Dam Square, a woman approached us and told us 'Come to my bar, it's dangerous for you to walk around here'. We thought she was joking and trying to sell us alcohol, but when we went in, we saw many frightened and scared Israelis. She saved us; we were really on our way to hell,” Kedar recounted in an interview on Kan Radio.
"The police arrived and dispersed the event, the rioters were not afraid of the police. We asked one of them to escort us to the hotel, and he refused, claiming 'We don't provide escort services'," he said, noting that he and his friend had to walk to the hotel alone and conceal any sign that might identify them as Israelis.
"200 meters from the hotel, someone approached me and asked where I was from; I answered 'Greece', and he pulled my yellow Maccabi scarf from my pocket and started confronting me." Tzvi shouted to his friend to run to no avail, and more assailants arrived at the scene: "They confronted us with metal rods, bottles, and knuckledusters; we were two against twenty, taking hits on the street like dogs. My friend lost consciousness, and I was bleeding."
He tried to call an ambulance and heard that the rescue forces refused to come to the location. "We evacuated ourselves by taxi, which the hotel claimed was safe. In the hospital, there was no empathy towards us; they were indifferent and did not ask us what happened."
He noted that the difficult event would not prevent him from continuing to support his team. "We will continue to travel around Europe; we shouldn't give these people a victory, but the countries hosting us need to provide a more serious response. Unfortunately, we still need that in 2024."