A local pub in Dortmund witnessed unparalleled calamity before Wednesday’s 2024 Euro semifinal between England and Netherlands with fans of the two teams getting into a wild fracas, video shows.
Chairs were being hurled, beer cans were soaring in the air and even a TV was vigorously thrown to the ground before fans started throwing punches.
According to UK police, five people sustained minor injuries after England fans got poached by Netherlands supporters, per the BBC.
The police reported that the Netherlands fans attempted to steal flags before spinning out of control.
Wednesday’s incident was a far cry from the playful banter that took place between Italian and Albanian supporters during the group stage last month in Dortmund.
An Albanian fan snapped a handful of spaghetti in front of Italian fans, one of whom dropped to their knees and jokingly begged the Albanian fan not to do it.
The winner of Wednesday’s game will move on to face Spain in Sunday’s Euro 2024 final.
The eagerness of the matchup caused some fans to spiral out of control just hours before kickoff. Police dubbed some of the Netherlands supporters a “risk,” the BBC reported.
England had an eventful run to the semifinals.
Fans and pundits have questioned England’s hiccups in the tournament, especially as they were the favorites heading into the tournament.
England relied on extra time – and an otherworldly finish from Jude Bellingham – to squeeze past Slovakia in the Round of 16.
They followed that with a quarterfinal matchup against Switzerland, which was decided on penalties.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands have cruised through their first two group stage matches, beating Romania 3-0 and Turkey 2-1 – all within regulation time.