Dutch police detain 230 Napoli fans in Eindhoven before Champions League match

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (AP) — Police in Eindhoven detained 230 Napoli fans on Monday night, amid fears of unrest ahead of PSV’s Champions League game against the Italian club and barred them from the city center and stadium for 24 hours.

Police in the southern Dutch city said in a statement that the Napoli supporters were arrested for “challenging behavior” in breach of an order that had been imposed on the area by law enforcement authorities in an attempt to keep the peace ahead of what was considered a very high risk match.

Police said earlier on X that about 180 fans were detained. The fans were held overnight for questioning then issued a fine and released but banned from areas included in a “security risk zone” imposed by Mayor Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

The police said they also detained four PSV fans elsewhere in the city. Eindhoven authorities have called Tuesday’s match a very high risk for potential crowd trouble.

Dijsselbloem last week created the security zone in the city center and around PSV’s stadium amid fears of clashes between fans. The move gives police in the area extra powers to monitor and control crowds and frisk fans to check for weapons and fireworks.

PSV is 27th in the 36-team Champions League standings with a loss and a draw from its two matches so far. Napoli has one victory and one loss and is in 19th place.

The match at PSV Stadium was set to start at 9 p.m. local time (1900 GMT).

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