Last week’s arrest of two Legia Warsaw players following a match against AZ Alkmaar has led to a diplomatic row between Poland and the Netherlands, with Polish politicians calling for an investigation and legal action to be taken.
Dutch police arrested Radovan Pankov and Josué Pesqueira after the match for physically assaulting members of the Dutch club’s staff, with Polish officials taking issue with their handling of the situation.
“I protested to the ambassador about what happened in Alkmaar and asked for a thorough investigation,” Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski said after meeting with Dutch Ambassador Daphne Bergsma on Saturday.
“We are dealing with very serious suspicions that there have been systematic actions by Dutch services and the city of Alkmaar against Polish citizens,” he added.
According to the Dutch police, the players had behaved aggressively after their team was temporarily confined to the dressing room while Polish fans were escorted to the stadium exits. Before the match, Polish supporters engaged in violent clashes with Dutch police, resulting in serious injuries on both sides.
The incident also led to a bilateral meeting between Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (PiS) and outgoing Dutch PM Mark Rutte (VVD/Renew) at the sidelines of an informal EU Council meeting in Granada on Friday, with the former expressing “strong protest” against the actions of Dutch police.
While Rutte acknowledged the concerns, he underlined that the incident would be handled by the police and justice officials, not himself.
Meanwhile, Dutch Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius (VVD/Renew) pointed to the rioting Polish supporters, calling on Morawiecki to “take a look at his own club first”.
Both countries are currently in the middle of election campaigns, with the Polish elections set to take place next week. Looking to stay in power, the ruling PiS party has repeatedly strained relations with other countries – such as Germany or Ukraine – to gain domestic political points.
Polish right-wing MEP Patryk Jaki announced that he would seek a debate in the European Parliament about the incident, accusing the Dutch of a “violation of the rule of law”.
“Hypocrites love to lecture others about the ‘rule of law’ and use such shameful methods themselves,” he posted on X.
(Benedikt Stöckl | Euractiv.com)
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