TWO WORLD WARS AND ONE WORLD CUP

Last updated : 25 June 2006 By Ed

The Guardian:

German police detained 122 English fans last night, mostly for drunken and aggressive behaviour, after trouble flared in Stuttgart. The supporters, in the city for England's second-round match against Ecuador tomorrow, had been throwing bottles and glasses at passers-by from a pub terrace.

Officers arriving at the scene also became targets of the fans and eventually the disturbance involved about 200 police, including British officers. No-one was injured according to a police spokesman, who said the fans would be held until Monday.

"By midnight there were 200 [fans] singing insulting and racist songs," said Stephen Thomas, the head of a British police team working in Germany. "An hour later there was a hard core of 100, who were by then very drunk and refused to move. Some bottles and chairs were thrown and eventually the situation came to a stand-off. The decision was taken, in conjunction with myself, that arrests should be made under preventative powers. It was absolutely the right decision."

Under German law police can detain individuals for threatening behaviour or if they suspect they are likely to commit a crime and it does not constitute a full arrest. "English fans were shown by this action that aggressive drinking, violence and bullying will be prevented," said the Stuttgart police chief Michael Kuehner.