Football fans sentenced for violence in the Netherlands and Belgium

In The Hague, a court sentenced two young men, aged 18 and 22, to six months and four months of imprisonment respectively (half of each term suspended) for taking part in public violence against police during the New Year’s celebrations on the Maarsbergenstraat. The 18‑year‑old threw a stone at a police van, breaking a window and narrowly injuring an officer; the court also ordered both to pay €2,500 in compensation to the affected officers.

In Belgium, two men, a 26‑year‑old from Roeselare and a 27‑year‑old from Knokke‑Heist, were convicted for assaulting a 58‑year‑old spectator after the Club Brugge‑Anderlecht match in 2022. The court imposed a 60‑hour community‑service work order on one and a one‑year probation sentence on the other, and each must pay more than €3,000 in damages. The victim suffered fractures and sinus injuries that required surgery. Both cases illustrate the judiciary’s strict response to football‑related hooligan violence.