Dutch Glad to Be Rid of Hooligans : Soccer: But only 18 of 950 arrested are charged with ‘open violence.’

Normality returned to the streets here Thursday after three days of the worst soccer hooliganism in recent times. A record 950 people were arrested by Dutch police, most of them English fans.

In Thursday morning’s editions, Dutch newspapers tsk-tsked the behavior of a small percentage of the 7,000 English fans who had descended on this orderly country. Hooligans engaged in pitched battles with riot police and Dutch fans here and in Rotterdam, site of Wednesday night’s World Cup qualifying match between England and the Netherlands. The Netherlands won, 2-0.

Officials in both countries had anticipated violence between the two notorious fan groups. Problems materialized in city centers before and after the game at Rotterdam’s Feyenoord Stadium. The previous record for hooligan arrests was 394 when England played Germany in Stuttgart in 1988.

Even after three days of street fighting, few injuries were reported to police. Authorities suggest this doesn’t mean there were not extensive injuries, but that hooligans were reluctant to seek treatment. Extra staff had been added at two Rotterdam hospitals--one for the Dutch and one for the English.

Reaction in England was one of shame and anger. British Home Secretary Michael Howard promised to ban anyone involved in the fighting from following England when it plays abroad.

“We will try to make sure that everyone who was involved in these incidents, whether or not they are prosecuted in Holland, is not permitted to enter the United States for the finals next year.”

With the loss, it is unlikely that England will qualify for the finals.

English officials are disappointed that the Dutch have not followed through on a promise to prosecute every lawbreaker. Only those fans convicted of soccer-related crimes can be identified and prevented from future travel.

Only 18 hooligans were in an Amsterdam court Thursday afternoon, charged with “open violence.”

Dutch police officials said it would be too costly and time consuming to gather evidence against all those detained. Another police spokesman said the idea was simply to get the hooligans out of the country as quickly as possible.

“They are a nuisance and a drain on resources,” he said.

Names of scores of hooligans are expected to be passed on to security officials responsible for policing the 1994 World Cup, to be held in nine cities in the United States next summer. An eight-person American delegation here witnessed some of the incidents.

Many fans were deported Wednesday night on passenger planes chartered by the Dutch government. The deported were ferried throughout the night to London’s Luton airport and released. Officers from Scotland Yard photographed them as they got off the flights and officials said the photos would be used to prevent the same fans from entering the United States for the World Cup.

In Thursday’s editions, many English newspapers ran photographs of fans leaving the planes with their faces covered and shouting obscenities.