Dutch authorities arrested more than 200 supporters of Italian club Napoli ahead of a “high-risk” Champions League match against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.
Police reported that large groups of Italian fans engaged in “provocative behaviour” in Eindhoven’s city centre on Monday night. To prevent clashes with locals, officers detained 230 fans.
The supporters were questioned overnight and subsequently released with fines. However, they were banned from attending the match and entering the city centre.
“All arrested supporters with a ticket are not allowed to attend tonight’s match,” the police said in a statement.
The match has been classified as “high-risk,” prompting special security measures, including preventative frisking. Authorities said they would maintain a strong presence ahead of the 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) kick-off and urged fans to cooperate.
“Let’s work together to ensure that tonight’s game and everything surrounding it proceeds smoothly so everyone can enjoy the football match,” the statement added.
On the field, both PSV and Napoli aim to recover from slow starts in their Champions League campaigns. Dutch champions PSV suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise in their opening fixture before securing a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen. Napoli, meanwhile, lost 2-0 at Manchester City before winning 2-1 against Sporting Lisbon at home.
