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England fans in overnight Cologne skirmishes: the best and the worst on German streets

Andrew Culf

German police force faces a most challenging day containing hooliganism

Cologne: A British police chief expressed disappointment after some England fans were involved in skirmishes here, souring the atmosphere ahead of Tuesday night's World Cup match against Sweden.

An estimated 60,000 England fans were here. More than 20,000 of them obtained tickets for the game in the RheinEnergie stadium, while others watched on giant television screens in three public viewing arenas.

With huge numbers of German fans also watching their team's 3-0 group leader deciding victory over Ecuador in the afternoon, and more than 8,000 Swedish supporters in the city, Stephen Thomas, gold commander of the British policing operation, described the day as the ``most challenging'' of the tournament so far for the German police.

There was a huge police presence, with scores of police vans parked unobtrusively in alleys and side streets. A helicopter hovered overhead.

Relaxed mood

The mood throughout the day was relaxed and friendly, in sharp contrast to scenes in the early hours around the cobbled square of the Alter Markt in Cologne's old town area, where about 2,500 England supporters had congregated.

Disorder broke out after a drunk English fan fell from the statue of Jan von Werth, a 17th century German general, after trying to remove a German flag. He dropped a bottle, which shattered on to people below.

As the police moved in to offer assistance, other England supporters threw bottles and chairs.

As the police used pepper spray to restore order, 16 officers were injured, including a female officer who required hospital treatment for cuts. Six fans were held, but released after being barred from the city. They will face a court appearance if they breach the ban, and could face football banning orders in the U.K.

Stefan Schwarz, a German police superintendent, said: "The England fans were throwing bottles at the German police and that's when we had to intervene to clear the area."

The city police are used to big events: Cologne's annual carnival brings a million people on to the streets, with drinking around the clock. The police regarded Tuesday's disturbance as a minor incident.

Mr. Thomas said: "We saw the best of England supporters during the day and the worst during the evening. It is a reflection of the expectations we have these days that I am disappointed by a small outbreak of disorder."

He added: "I have nothing but admiration for the vast majority of fans... there were 70,000 in Frankfurt, 50,000 in Nuremberg and some 60,000 here in Cologne. A very small minority of people drink and act inappropriately. They would also cause trouble back in the U.K."

Few disruptions

Lord Triesman, a Foreign Office Minister who attended the match with Chancellor Gordon Brown, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, and Tory leader David Cameron, said most fans deserved credit for their behaviour. "It may be that a very, very small number of people who have very little to do with football are very disruptive, but the generality has been excellent."

Seven fans were arrested for fighting among themselves, one for being too drunk to stand and another for trying to climb the stadium's perimeter fence. There have been a total of 2,695 arrests and temporary detentions during the World Cup. Thirty-nine England fans have been arrested for criminal offences and 64 held under police prevention powers.

Mr. Thomas praised the success of the ports operation in the U.K.: 3,768 fans were prevented from travelling by banning orders, 75 were stopped from leaving the U.K., and 65 were arrested for breaching arrest warrants. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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