Thirty arrests after England and German fans clash

AFP - 20 November 2008 16:55

German police hold a German supporter after the Germany vs England friendly at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on November 19. German police reported Thursday they made a total of 30 arrests in the wake of England´s 2-1 win here over Germany, with both sets of fans generally praised for their good behaviour.

BERLIN (AFP) - German police reported Thursday they made a total of 30 arrests in the wake of England's 2-1 win here over Germany, with both sets of fans generally praised for their good behaviour.

The arrests were made between Tuesday evening and the end of Wednesday night's match at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

"We are satisfied, things remained relatively calm," said a spokesman for Berlin police.

In the worst of the violence, three hooligans were arrested outside the stadium just an hour before kick off as rival groups of fans clashed and bottles were thrown, a police spokesman told AFP.

Three German and three English supporters were slightly wounded, while two police officers also had to be treated for injuries, none of which were regarded as serious, and 1,900 police were deployed in the capital.

But after the match the area outside the stadium cleared quickly and most of the England fans, happy at their well-deserved 2-1 victory, flew back home on Wednesday evening.

At least four flights had been scheduled to leave Berlin after the match and extra trains had been laid on to take fans to the city's two airports.

England fans have a bad name for hooliganism in Germany and, of the 1,800 supporters who arrived through Berlin's two airports, 140 high-risk fans identified by British police officers were detained on arrival.

Seventeen German fans, who are known hooligans, were also detained by police in the build-up to the game.

Police added that nine known English hooligans were barred from travelling to Germany.