Clashes among football fans in Germany

Ap
Wednesday 19 November 2008 16:02 GMT
Comments

Seven England supporters have been detained after fights and minor clashes with police ahead of tonight's friendly against Germany.

Two people were detained after a group of England fans in Berlin mistook plainclothes policemen for Germany supporters and threw bottles at them. Once the undercover officers put on their police vests and called for reinforcements, the England fans fled from the scene at the capital's Alexanderplatz, police said in a statement. The two detained England fans could face charges of causing disturbances.

Five other fans were detained after fights late Tuesday and early Wednesday, police said. No major clashes were reported.

Berlin police expect up to 8,000 England fans for the friendly.

Police from the countries working together have identified about 140 potential hooligans from England and 17 violent Germans fans, according to the statement. Nine fans were not allowed to leave England.

Up to 1,500 police officers were to be on duty before and during the match.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in