October 1, 2026
The Dutch authorities have officially decided to prevent fans of the Israeli club “Hapoel Beer Sheva” from attending its team’s upcoming match against its host, “Alkmaar”, scheduled for October 15th of this year, within the European Football League Championship competitions, for reasons related to security and public order.
This decision came after a careful risk assessment conducted jointly by the municipality of Alkmaar, the police, and the Public Prosecution. The evaluation concluded that the current geopolitical context, in addition to the possibility of organizing demonstrations and the nature of fan movements, raises the level of security risks to record levels that necessitate cancellation.
For its part, Alkmaar Club announced its full commitment to the decision issued by the authorities, stressing that its top priority is to ensure that the match is organized in a safe environment, and in full coordination with the competent official authorities and the European Football Association (UEFA).
This precautionary measure comes in light of increasing fears of a recurrence of the riots and security unrest that took place in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, in November 2024, following the confrontation between the Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv teams, which then resulted in injuries and arrests as a result of clashes and street violence.
It is noteworthy that similar security measures were taken previously, as the English club “Aston Villa” previously prevented “Maccabi Tel Aviv” fans from attending the two teams’ match in the European League last season, under the pretext of the same security concerns.
