Dutch football clubs have failed to invest sufficiently in stadium safety over the past few years, allowing hooliganism to flourish, according to a new report by Bureau Beke on behalf of the national police force.

In addition, a new group of young supporters who drink too much and take too many drugs are shaping the way football-related violence is moving, the report said.

The researchers interviewed 51 experts who are linked to 31 of the 34 Dutch professional clubs. They also looked at the background of 521 supporters who had been linked to football hooliganism in the past three years.

In the years before the pandemic, clubs focused on being hospitable, welcoming places. But that approach is now getting in the way of dealing with football-related violence, the researchers say.

The new group of football hooligans are young men in their late teens and early 20s, who live in the city where the club is based, have jobs and mainly still live with their parents. Most do not have a criminal record when arrested for football hooliganism.

They “don’t give a shit” about anyone, including security officials and the older, core group of supporters, who condemn the use of weapons. They dress mainly in black and identify each other via tattoos and logos, the report said.

“We think it is high time that the clubs started taking responsibility and investing more in safety,” Amsterdam police chief Frank Pauw said.

The Dutch football association KNVB issued professional football clubs 167 fines over the past two seasons because of problems with supporters, broadcaster NOS said in August. In total, the KNVB levied fines reaching almost €920,000 on the 34 clubs in the Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie, NOS said.

In total, 118 of the fines were for incidents involving fireworks and 50 were for throwing things, such as plastic cups of beer, on the pitch. In 20 cases, clubs were fined for pitch invasions. Matches were also halted because of trouble 23 times.