Recent news: Champions League eliminations PSV and Ajax, violence incident in Utrecht and aid after explosion (Thursday, January 29)

PSV has been eliminated from the Champions League after a 1-2 defeat against Bayern Munich at home. Bayern scored late in the match through Harry Kane, while PSV had earlier equalized with a goal from Ismael Saibari. PSV finished in 28th place in the final standings, meaning the team will not advance to the playoff round.

Ajax also lost 1-2 to Olympiacos and is therefore eliminated. Benfica reached the knockout stage by scoring in the last second with a header from goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin. Liverpool convincingly qualified for the round of 16 after a 6-0 victory over Qarabag FK from Azerbaijan.

On Friday, sixteen teams, excluding Ajax and PSV, will enter the draw for the Champions League playoff round. In Utrecht, two women will file a complaint against a police officer who used violence during an arrest on Monday at the Hoog Catharijne shopping center. According to the women, represented by lawyer Anis Boumanjal, they were kicked and beaten and also racially abused with statements such as "you do not belong in this country."

Bystanders filmed the incident, showing a woman being kicked while she was filming the officer and another woman being hit with a baton. The police report that the woman who was hit with the baton is a 23-year-old woman from De Koog and was arrested for insult. The police are investigating the case and say the incident involved a group of about twenty people, where one of the women allegedly insulted an officer, something the lawyer disputes.

Police sociologist Jaap Timmer says that a judgment about the violence can only be given once all the data is known. In addition, the municipality of Utrecht has engaged a real estate agent to help victims of the explosion on January 15 at Visscherssteeg find housing. Of the approximately one hundred people who had to leave their homes, twenty cannot return yet.

The cause of the explosion has not yet been determined, the Public Prosecution Service's investigation is ongoing, and a gas leak has been detected, but it is unclear whether this occurred before or after the explosion. Sources: NU.nl, NU.nl Sport, Omroep Brabant, NOS Binnenland (12 articles)