Feyenoord football club won the Dutch title (1998-99 Eredivisie) on 25 April having beaten NAC Breda in a game.
In celebration a large street party ceremony of up to 250,000 people took place in Coolsingel in Rotterdam city centre.
[1] The riots were yet another troubled event in the lead up of the Netherlands co-hosting UEFA Euro 2000, coming two years after the infamous Battle of Beverwijk, as well as widescale riots and fighting in Rotterdam during the 1998 Dutch cup final between supporters of AFC Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord.
[6] Furthermore, a friendly match between the Netherlands and Morocco in Arnhem on 21 April 1999, days before the riots in Rotterdam, involved a group of Moroccan fans invading the pitch and violence between Moroccan youth and police in the city of Rotterdam.
[4] Bild Zeitung, a German tabloid newspaper, made an article at the time asking "Is Holland safe enough for Euro 2000?