It was a Europa League evening that people at VfB Stuttgart will probably be dealing with for quite some time. On the one hand, there are the important three points against Go Ahead Eagles Deventer, which bring VfB a good step closer to the Europa League round of 16.
On the other hand, there are all the images of the Dutch police before the match, which spread rapidly on social media last night: police officers apparently attacking the Swabian supporters with disproportionate force. In some cases, holding them for an extremely long time and thus trying to deny them entry to the stadium.
“What really shocks me is that when you get off a bus in Europe today, the first thing you get as a greeting is a baton to the neck. Where are we?” said Stuttgart’s CEO Alexander Wehrle, visibly appalled during halftime in an interview with ‘RTL’ about the police’s actions. The VfB boss said he was there himself and witnessed the police’s conduct.
🐷🇳🇱Dutch police attacking the Stuttgart fans tonight ahead of the match against Go Ahead Eagles pic.twitter.com/ICKbRwrLkO
— 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐥𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 (@thecasualultra) November 27, 2025
“This is how fan culture in Europe is destroyed. I really have to say, I am shocked. We have also filed a complaint with UEFA; we cannot let this stand. I’m glad I saw it myself, because I never would have thought it possible.” He said he was held with the VfB supporters for over an hour and a half before they were allowed to leave the premises. According to Wehrle, the behavior of the police authorities was unacceptable.
Ron König, mayor of Deventer, emphasized that a ban on Stuttgart fans entering the city center had already been issued in the afternoon. However, it became clear, he said, “that other people have completely different ideas. In the interest of the safety of real football fans, residents, and business owners, I therefore took this measure.”
But it wasn’t just off the pitch that there were unpleasant scenes from the Dutch side that evening: in the 72nd minute, the recently substituted Edvardsen brought down Karazor unnecessarily from behind.
As if that weren’t enough of a scandal, the situation escalated even further afterwards, when Edvardsen passed by Angelo Stiller and made gestures alluding to his nose.
Wesley Sneijder is furious. He says Victor Edvardsen’s behaviour is unacceptable. #UEL#GAEVfBpic.twitter.com/CR40tMzR74
— Football24/7 (@foet247europa) November 27, 2025
Dutch expert Wesley Sneijder also condemned the incident: “I find it sad. Such things must not be accepted in any way.”
In the end, Stuttgart return to Germany with a 4-0 victory, and at least that should provide a bit of satisfaction on such an evening.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
📸 Selim Sudheimer – 2024 Getty Images
