Prosecutors have demanded sentences of up to four and a half months for a group of 20 people who joined in rioting at a European football match between Twente Enschede and Swedish club Hammarby IF.

The defendants, aged between 19 and 43, all admitted disrupting the match in De Grolsch Veste stadium on July 27 after they were identified on camera images.

Several of the rioters claimed they were swept up in the violence and did not go to the match intent on causing trouble. “I was out looking for a thrill and thought I’d just follow the herd,” one said.

But the magistrate at Almelo district court pointed out that nearly all of them had tried to obscure their faces for the cameras. “All I can see is hoods, scarves, hats, black concealing clothing and even gloves,” he said.

Another man said the crowd had been angered when visiting supporters jeered and whistled during a minute’s silence before the game.

Another five rioters are due to appear in court tomorrow. All 25 have been banned from the stadium by FC Twente and prosecutors have asked the court to extend the ban to the area around the ground for five years.

The prosecution said a jail sentence was needed to send out a signal that football hooliganism would not be tolerated. “Children should be able to go to football without being bothered by drunk football hooligans. There is a zero tolerance policy for football riots, but the hooligans don’t learn.”

The defendants are due to be sentenced on Tuesday, July 16.