Fact Check: 2023 video FALSELY viral as recent attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam

India Today Fact Check found that this video from 2023 shows a mob attacking a man for kissing a minor in Amsterdam.

India Today Fact Check

Claim
This video shows a recent violent attack against Israeli football fans in Amsterdam.

Fact
This video is from 2023 and has nothing to do with the recent attack on Israeli football fans in Amsterdam.

In Short

• Israeli fans attacked in Amsterdam post-football match
• Original video from May 2023, unrelated to current incident
• Police arrested 62 people after multiple violent outbreaks

Israeli soccer fans were attacked in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on November 7, after a Europa League football match between their team Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax. The latter won the match 5-0. Shocking video viral on social media shows Israeli fans being beaten up late at night. Reportedly, “Free Palestine” shouts were heard from the assailants.

Among the many videos allegedly documenting the violence, one that was widely shared shows a young man being repeatedly kicked by a mob at a train station. The young man trying to stagger away ultimately falls on the train's tracks.

Sharing this clip, an X user wrote, “Today they are attacking Jews in Amsterdam, tomorrow they will attack you inside your own country. Better unite and stand against radical Islamic terrorism.” Its archive can be seen here.

India Today Fact Check found that the viral video is from 2023 and has nothing to do with the recent attack on Israeli football fans in Amsterdam.

OUR PROBE

Responding to the viral post, many people claimed that this incident was old. A reverse image search led us to several news reports containing the viral video’s screengrabs published in May 2023.

As per Het Parool, an Amsterdam-based daily, a man was assaulted by a group of people after allegedly kissing an underage boy without his consent.

The assault took place on the evening of May 5, 2023, at Amsterdam’s Bijlmer Arena station. The report said the police arrested seven minors suspected in this case. At least three suspects in a statement said a drunk white man kissed a minor boy without his consent, after which they attacked him.

According to another Dutch news report published on May 6, 2023, about 10 people were involved in the attack. We also found the same video shared on X in a post dated May 6, 2023.

WHAT HAPPENED IN AMSTERDAM ON NOVEMBER 7?

The New York Times reported that the police in Amsterdam said in a statement they had begun an investigation into multiple outbreaks of violence and 62 people had been arrested. Most of those arrested were later released. The clashes reportedly took place in several places where people had gathered, some in support of the Israeli team and others to protest its arrival. Five Israelis were hospitalised and later discharged, Amsterdam authorities said. Some others sustained light injuries.

The Times also reported that video footage from Amsterdam showed a group of men trying to take down a Palestinian flag from a building in central Amsterdam while shouting anti-Arab slogans. The Daily Mail reported the same.

Hendrikus Wilhelmus Maria Schoof, the Dutch prime minister, called the incidents “completely unacceptable” antisemitic attacks on Israelis in Amsterdam.

Thus, it’s clear that a 2023 video is being falsely shared as footage of recent attacks on Israeli football fans in Amsterdam.

(Written by Ashish Kumar)