England followers have been banned from consuming robust lager on the Three Lions’ first Euros conflict in opposition to Serbia and will probably be supplied German shandy as an alternative, it has emerged.
The drastic measure, sure to infuriate England followers who’ve travelled to Germany for the event, comes amid fears Serb hooligans are planning to disrupt the highly-anticipated match on Sunday.
As an alternative of being supplied 4.8 per cent energy Bitburger Premium on the 62,000-seat Veltins Area, England followers must make do with a closely watered-down lager.
England’s essential opening sport is the one group match the place followers will probably be served a most of two pints at a time of two.5 per cent beer – which is half lager and half citrus soda.
Gelsenkirchen police spokesman Stephan Knipp instructed The Solar: ‘It’s simply the England sport which can have the low-strength beer. The opposite video games on the stadium can have 4.8 per cent.’
England followers have been banned from consuming robust lager on the Three Lions’ first Euros conflict in opposition to Serbia. (File picture)
It comes amid fears Serb hooligans might conflict with England followers on the essential opening sport
It isn’t but clear which low-strength Bitburger followers will probably be given because the German beer model presents a 2.5 per cent ‘Radler’ lemonade shandy and a 2.8 per cent Bitburger Mild.
One other police supply instructed the newspaper: ‘The stadium beer would be the similar per cent as a Radler made with glowing lemonade, which you English name shandy. Authorities try to scale back threat.’
Pumped up England followers may even should cope with a consuming ban within the Gelsenkirchen metropolis centre earlier than kick-off at 8pm UK time.
Three Lions supporters have been prohibited from consuming within the metropolis’s primary sq., Heinrich-Konig-Platz.
‘The sq. will probably be a fan zone for different video games within the metropolis, however not for England, Mr Knipp added The Solar. ‘Followers can nonetheless drink alcohol within the metropolis’s bars and in a fan zone for England followers on the racecourse.’
It comes amid fears Serbian hooligan gangs such because the ‘Head Hunters’ and ‘Gravediggers’ might goal these on the Euro 2024 match between the international locations on Sunday evening.
Soccer followers in Serbia have a monitor file of significant violence – with hooligan teams linked to organised crime teams accused of kidnap, rape and even homicide.
Pumped up England followers may even should cope with a consuming ban within the metropolis centre earlier than kick-off at 8pm UK time. (File picture)
German police have been working with authorities from London and Belgrade to attempt to keep away from ugly scenes within the areas across the stadium and through the sport itself. Pictured: Purple Star Belgrade followers
And most England followers will probably be hoping they won’t come head to head with the Balkan nation’s most infamous hooligan Ivan Bogdanov, a fearsome determine often known as ‘Ivan the Horrible’ who has spent greater than two years in Italian and Serbian jails.
There have even been claims of some Partizan Belgrade ultras utilizing a ‘bunker’ on the membership’s floor to hold out torture and decapitations. The gang was allegedly led by a Partizan fanatic referred to as Veljko ‘The Hassle’ Belivuk, with a trial nonetheless ongoing.
As for Purple Star Belgrade ultras, often known as the Delije or ‘Sturdy Boys’, they’re stated to specialize in gang warfare, political violence, racketeering and organised crime.
England will play Serbia in what German officers have deemed a ‘excessive threat’ tie this Sunday night on the Veltins Area in Gelsenkirchen, the house of FC Schalke 04.
As much as 40,000 folks from England are anticipated to journey to Germany for the match at 9pm native time (8pm BST), in comparison with as much as 8,000 from Serbia – and native police chiefs consider 400 to 500 of those will probably be ‘violence-seeking Serbian hooligans’.
German police have been working with authorities from London and Belgrade to attempt to keep away from ugly scenes within the areas across the stadium and through the sport itself.
England will play Serbia in what German officers have deemed a ‘excessive threat’ tie this Sunday night on the Veltins Area (pictured) in Gelsenkirchen, the house of FC Schalke 04
Peter Each, the chief of police in Gelsenkirchen, instructed The Guardian that officers within the nation didn’t have ‘concrete intelligence, concrete data’ at this stage.
However they consider ‘as much as 400 or 500 violence-seeking Serbian hooligans will journey to Germany, however we do not understand it precisely and in order that’s our drawback in the mean time’.
He added: ‘I assume the most important problem for us will probably be to determine violent, disruptive teams at an early stage, to separate them from peaceable and law-abiding followers.’
Some Serbian followers identify themselves ‘ultras’, with many of those belonging to far-right pro-Russian teams Delije or Strongmen supporters of Serbian league champions, Purple Star Belgrade.
The final time England followers went overseas for the Euros was to France in 2016, the place scores of supporters have been put in hospital when organised Russian hooligans focused them in Marseille.
