The Hague and Amsterdam are preparing for unrest around the Morocco-Spain World Cup match

taketonews

The Hague and Amsterdam are preparing for unrest around the Morocco-Spain World Cup match

The municipalities of The Hague and Amsterdam are taking measures in preparation for the World Cup match between Morocco and Spain at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. At previous matches in Morocco, rioters caused a nuisance in these cities, and the police had to intervene hard. In both cities, the police act side by side with youth workers, street coaches and neighborhood parents.

In The Hague, the police will be “even more visible” on the street than at previous matches, according to a spokesperson. In addition, the police have issued a dozen warning letters to rioters who have not previously committed a criminal offense but have come under the radar of law enforcement. If they misbehave, they can get an area ban. Other measures have been taken, but the municipality does not want to “show the back of the tongue”, a spokesperson reports when asked: “If we say that we close a street at 3 o’clock, the rioters will of course come there at 2.30 pm.” .

In Amsterdam, the Mercatorplein, Plein 40-45 and part of the Burgemeester de Vlugtlaan are being redesignated as a security risk area, where the police will be both “visibly and invisibly present”. Anyone entering the areas can be searched. In addition, the municipality reports that a German water cannon will be present on Mercatorplein. The Dutch water cannons are out of action due to technical problems. A spokesman for the municipality confirms this NRC.

Read also Angry Moroccan Dutch after football riots: ‘You are ruining our future’

Football supporters celebrate in The Hague after Morocco’s match against Canada on December 1. Photo Robin van Lonkhuijsen/ANP

Welcome to this blog

On Monday, Croatia defeated Japan on penalties and later in the day, Brazil was far too strong for South Korea. In addition to Croatia and Brazil, the Netherlands, Argentina, France and England have also qualified for the quarter-finals. We will know who will be the last two quarter-finalists after this Tuesday.

The first eighth final will take place at 4 p.m. between Morocco and Spain. Although Spain is the favorite on paper, the Moroccans are very confident after finishing first in a group with Croatia, Belgium and Canada. Spain won the first group match convincingly 7-0 against Costa Rica, but then a draw against Germany and a surprising loss against Japan followed.

The second game, at 8 p.m., will be played between Switzerland and Portugal. Portugal, despite a 2-1 loss in the last group match against South Korea, is clearly the favourite. Switzerland managed to qualify for the eighth final with a hard-fought victory over Serbia and can just provide a surprise this Tuesday.

Read here back to our blog from Monday

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