A judge in Rotterdam has upheld a ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol in the centre of the city on Thurday afternoon, ahead of the second leg of the Dutch football cup final between Feyenoord and Ajax.

Local bar and cafe owners had gone to court on Thursday morning in a bid to get the ban, which runs until midnight, overturned.
Rotterdam mayor Achmed Aboutaleb, who brought in the ban, welcomed the court’s decision. ‘I accept these are hard and far-reaching measures but they are unfortunately necessary to ensure public order and the safety of Rotterdammers,’ he told news agency ANP.