Five men accused of inciting and participating in the violence surrounding the Ajax Maccabi Tel Aviv football match last month have been sentenced to community service and up to six months in jail.

The sentences are higher than normal for these sort of violent offences but “given the seriousness of the facts and the context they took place in, prison is appropriate”, the court said in its verdict.  All are less than demanded by the public prosecution department.

Three men were found guilty of violent assault and two others for sharing information in a Whatsapp group which contributed to the violence.

Sefa Ö was given a six-month sentence less the time he has already been held in custody.  Umutcan A was jailed for one month and Lucas D, who is 19, was tried under juvenile law and given 100 hours community service.

Rachid O, who circulated messages in the Whatsapp group was jailed for 10 weeks and Karavan S was given one month for the same offence.

Lucas D was the only one of the five to appear in court for the sentencing.

Seven people had appeared in court earlier this month but two of the cases have been delayed. In one case the defence requested a new date because more time was needed to prepare evidence. The second case, involving a Palestinian refugee accused of “attempted manslaughter” has been adjourned pending a psychiatric evaluation.

The hearings are the first to follow a night of violence on the night of November 7 which almost toppled the Dutch government. Five supporters of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv were taken to hospital after being attacked by what Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema described as “hit and runs” by “youths on scooters” following the Europa League tie against Ajax.

The violence caused outrage in Israel and elsewhere, with Israel at one point saying it would send over planes to rescue its citizens.

Since then a more nuanced picture has emerged of what went on, although the police have not said how many people were attacked or how many incidents there were. However, according to an analysis of online footage by Trouw and Bellingcat, there is no visual evidence, for example, that scooters were involved.

It has also become clear that Maccabi supporters also caused trouble both before and after the match, tearing down at least one Palestinian flag and chanting anti-Palestinian slogans.

Complaints from Israel

Chief prosecutor René de Beukelaer said earlier this month that officials have received 60 to 70 formal complaints from Israel and that “several dozen” people appear to have been attacked.

“We have complaints, we have films, but there could be incidents which no one reported and for which there are no films,” he said.  

The police are still studying surveillance and other footage to try to identify more suspects. In total, 62 people were arrested on the day of the match itself – 10 of whom were Maccabi fans – and most were released later.

So far footage of 15 suspects has been shown on television and three have either given themselves up or been identified.