Opportunistic hooligans new problem for Dutch football

The Netherlands is seeing the emergence of a new generation of football hooligans. According to research carried out by a government advisory body, these troublemakers are younger than 23 years old and act on impulse.
The Audit Team for Football and Security was asked by the government to research the serious rioting that occurred last year in the cities of Rotterdam and Utrecht.  The team found that the problems were mostly caused by “opportunistic” hooligans, rather than organised gangs as has been the case in the past. 
The Team say that this type of offender is usually unknown to the special police units set up to deal with football violence and that research is needed into how to deal with them.  They do not have a hierarchy or group structure and it’s unclear how they communicate among themselves. 
Failure to act
According to the team, the riots in Rotterdam on September 17th last year could have been prevented if riot police had been more visible. The riot police were also criticised for taking too long to intervene in the violence at a match between FC Utrecht and FC Twenthe in December. 
The report says the police must focus more on prevention rather than simply restoring order, and urges officers to investigate rumours of planned violence that may be circulating amongst supporters.