Utrecht mayor demands compensation for destroyed buses | OneFootball

Sharon Dijksma, president of the Utrecht city council, demands that FC Porto supporters be held accountable and pay compensation for the eight buses that were destroyed last Thursday, the day the Dragons drew (1-1) with the Dutch team in the 4th round match of the UEFA Europa League group stage.

According to the NL Times, the mayor had anticipated possible incidents before the match, identifying certain areas as risk zones for security, and later the local police received information indicating a likely confrontation between supporters and attacks on authorities. The publication states that this decision enabled the police to carry out preventive searches in those locations.

“It is regrettable that a home game for Utrecht, which has such a big impact on the entire city, requires so much policing,” said the president. It should be noted that a total of 76 supporters of the blue and white club were detained in Utrecht, but were released hours later.

Dijksma also praised the work of the 400 officers assigned to the match. “The police did an excellent job and prevented something worse from happening,” she wrote in a letter to the municipality.

The destruction of the buses occurred while FC Porto supporters were being transported to Stadion Galgenwaard – fireworks were thrown inside the vehicles, resulting in eight vehicles being “extensively” damaged.

“Several buses suffered serious damage and I can imagine how frightening it must have been for the drivers,” emphasized the mayor, who expressed her outrage to the bus company and intends to meet personally with the affected workers.

The police confiscated approximately 20 kilos of heavy pyrotechnic material, including 14 explosive devices found at a man’s residence in Zeist and more than 20 nitrates detected in the vehicle of a Dragons supporter in Limburg.

A police source added that large quantities of fireworks were also found on trains used by Porto supporters, after some of these devices were set off in central Amsterdam.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.