Euro 2024: 500 Serbians to engage in violence at England's first match in Germany - Report
England men's senior football team during the friendly match against Iceland at Wembley
A squad of 500 Serbian hooligans is expected to engage in violent conduct at England's first match at Euro 2024 on Sunday (Jun 15), according to a report in the Guardian. England play Serbia at theVeltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen - home to Bundesliga 2 club Schalke to kickstart their tournament.
As many as 40,000 English fans are expected to travel to the match while between 5,000 to 8,000 Serbian supporters will also be present in the west German city. Peter Both, the chief of police in Gelsenkirchen said although German police did not have concrete intelligence, it believed that 'up to 400 or 500 violence-seeking Serbians' will travel to Germany.
“I guess the biggest challenge for us will be to identify violent, disruptive groups at an early stage, to separate them from peaceful and law-abiding fans, that will be our biggest challenge," Both was quoted as saying.
Both said German police had brilliant cooperation with the UK authoritiesand that some known hooligans from England would be blocked from travelling to ensure there is no escalation, at least from the English side.
The report added thatmore than 1,600 England fans with football banning orders had been forced to surrender their passports to the police from June 4 till the final on July 14.
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Apart from the violence by fans or ultra groups, the organisers are also worried of the risk of a terrorist attack or an attempt by Russia to stir violence.
England face reality check
Gareth Southgate's men are among the favourites to win the tournament in Germanybut they had a shaky farewell when Iceland defeated them 1-0 at Wembley last Friday (Jun 7).
The visitor took a surprising early lead through Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson and had numerous chances to extend their advantage as the hosts toiled at both ends of the pitch.
After the defeat, England captain Kane said lessons have to be learned ahead of their Group C opener againstSerbia.
"Sometimes you need this wake-up call. There are areas we need to improve, especially with our pressure," said Kane.
"The group games are going to be very similar to this. We are going to have to defend well, especially the longer balls, and with the ball we need to be a bit more patient."
England are yet to settle on a final playing XI that will take the field on the weekend, as Gareth Southgate sweats over the fitness of only left-back in the squad, Luke Shaw.
(With inputs from agencies)