England football fans arrested in Amsterdam after violent clashes

England fans beside a canal in Amsterdam

Twenty-five English football fans were arrested in Amsterdam on Thursday after violent clashes with the police.

An Amsterdam police force statement said the "drunken" fans had thrown beer bottles at officers.

It comes ahead of England's Friday night friendly against Holland.

England manager Gareth Southgate had called on his team's supporters to behave, saying it is important for fans to "support us in the right way" and "respect our opponents".

He added that fans "are representing our country in the same way we are".

"They will be the mirror of our country that people in Holland look at," he said.

'Heavy handed'

The arrests come a year after violence marred another England friendly, in Dortmund in Germany, which saw the FA issue some fans with life bans on membership of the England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC).

The FA said it will look at the incident in Amsterdam to see if ESTC members were involved and action needed to be taken.

But one fan said the police had been "very heavy handed" and had attacked England fans "for no reason".

"It's like they want England to push them back to make us look bad," Josh Mahoney, who is attending his first England game with his family, said.

"There was a riot van at the door pulling fans out of the pub. We had been in there several hours with no trouble at all," he added.