27 Injured in Dutch Soccer Melee

Dutch soccer fans smashed store windows, hurled bricks at police and fought with rival spectators Sunday, and 27 people were injured and 24 arrested, police said.

The violence came one day after 94 people were crushed to death in a mad rush at a soccer match in Sheffield, England.

Before Sunday’s match between Ajax of Amsterdam and the Feyenoord team from Rotterdam, the visiting fans went on a rampage, smashing the interior of a subway train and windows of nearby shops, police spokesman Klaas Wilting said.

Scuffles broke out before and after the match, which began 15 minutes late because of the unrest, Wilting said. Police wearing riot gear had to make several baton charges into the stands of the Olympic Stadium and in surrounding streets in order to keep the rival groups of fans apart, he said.

Most of those arrested were being held on suspicion of violent behavior, including hurling bricks at police, Wilting said. He said 24 soccer fans and three police officers were injured, and 10 of those were hospitalized. There was no immediate word on the extent of the damage, Wilting said.