Season 05/06 - January

Riots between Napoli and Lazio fans - 15/01/2006

Source:ANSA

Riots occured, opposing two cars with rival fans, on the A1 motorway.
Three people were injured (all from Lazio and one of them was stabebd at his leg). Four Napoli fans were controlled by police.
These Napoli fans were on their road to Massa and the ones following Lazio on their road to parma.

World Cup violence threat 'a challenge'- 21/01/2006

Source : FT.COM

Police face a significant challenge in curbing the threat of violence by English hooligans at this summer's football World Cup finals in Germany, according to a Home Office report.

In an analysis of the judicial and policing strategy for dealing with football-related disorder, yesterday's report argued tougher penalties and improved tactics had helped to reduce the scale of violence by English fans at home and abroad in recent years. But while there had been no significant disorder by England fans during the last World Cup in Japan and South Korea in 2002, or the European Championships in Portugal in 2004, the report made clear there was a huge task ensuring the reputation of English football was not tarnished by drunken fans bent on confronting their historic German rivals.

Courts are issuing an increasing number of banning orders restricting the travel overseas of people police believe are linked to violence. British and German police are sharing intelligence and operational best practice.

Polish hooligans target World Cup finals in Germany - 23/01/2005

Source : ATL World Cup Soccer

Polish hooligans are aiming to cause mayhem at this summer's World Cup finals in Germany and achieve a notoriety equal to that of the traditional sources of violence such as England and The Netherlands.

Germany's Der Spiegel weekly said Polish fans from clubs around the country were banding together with the aim of wreaking havoc at the finals.

"The hooligans want to use the World Cup to show that they are just as dangerous as their English, Dutch or German counterparts. We must quite simply expect the worst," Jacek Purski from the Warsaw-based supporters' initiative Nigdy Wiecey (Never Again) told Der Spiegel.

Purski described the profile of typical Polish hooligans as "car thieves, doormen, petty thieves or dealers".

Drawn in the first-round Group A with host nation Germany, Costa Rica and Ecuador, Poland are tipped to finish second and qualify for what could be a second-round tie against England.

Given the poor reputation of English fans, that is a fixture which could set alarm bells ringing for the World Cup organisers.

Der Spiegel quoted a 21-year-old hooligan, which it named as Marek, who follows the Legia Warsaw club.

"Of course football is also about a good fight," he said.

Marek, who is unemployed, told Der Spiegel he was grateful to the Nazis "for freeing Poland from the grip of the lazy Jews".

Der Spiegel estimates that 300,000 Poles will travel over the border to Germany for the 62-match finals, which begin on June 9 and end on July 9.

A report in Der Spiegel in December described how Polish and German hooligans took part in an organised 100-man mass brawl in a forest near the Polish border in East Germany.

Police said one of the German hooligans arrested at the scene had already been sentenced for his part in riots at the 1998 World Cup finals in France.


English hooligans throw chairs at police a few hours before the Euro 2000 match against Germany. Polish hooligans are aiming to cause mayhem at this summer's World Cup finals in Germany and achieve a notoriety equal to that of the traditional sources of violence such as England and The Netherlands.

Eastern Nazis target black England stars - 24/01/2006

Source : The Sunday Times
Bob Graham

Extreme right wing groups from eastern Europe are planning to subject England’s black football stars to racist abuse during the World Cup tournament in Germany.
The gangs, from Serbia, Croatia and the Czech Republic, have held meetings at which they agreed to put aside traditional rivalries for the duration of the tournament.

Radi Jiricna, a Czech organiser of the “United Fascist Brigade”, warned: “We will be coming together to fight in Germany . . . our spiritual home. We are looking for black English players because they are taking the places of white players.”

The Sunday Times has learnt of a meeting held two months ago in Serbia, involving six Czech skinheads and the Delije, notoriously violent supporters of Red Star Belgrade. Two weeks later they met a group of hooligans from Croatia.

Fifteen years ago a pitched battle in a football stadium between Red Star fans and a rival Croatian club was one of the sparks that ignited the Balkan wars.
One of the Serbian organisers, Dragan Banovic, explained: “Germany will be one big battleground this summer. This is an opportunity for our groups to shout our message and to know people will hear it.”

Banovic, a former paramilitary who fought in Bosnia alongside Arkan, the Serbian war criminal assassinated in 2000, added: “For the time of the World Cup, traditional rivalries will be forgotten. I will be able to stand alongside others from Zagreb and Split, from Prague, Rome and Milan to shout with one voice because we all feel the same.
“There will be many more in Germany who will have sympathy with us and we think we will be able to cause many problems for the police. Our targets are the black players and those who follow them. The black players from England will be a good target for us because they will react to what we shout and to the banners we will be carrying. We will be throwing more than bananas at them.”
The thugs say they will not be deterred by measures intended to prevent them from buying tickets, and will fight outside the stadiums. They plan to link up with like-minded hooligans from Italy’s notorious extremist groups to create “Ultras United”.

At a meeting held in London last month, European police chiefs discussed how to prevent fascist groups from targeting African teams and black members of the England squad, such as Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell and Ledley King.

Two other England players, Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips, were the victims of monkey chants a year ago during a friendly game against Spain. The Spanish footballing authorities were forced to apologise for the behaviour of spectators in Madrid. Piara Power, national co-ordinator of the Kick It Out anti-racism campaign, said: “In some places in eastern Europe, whenever there is a Jewish or black player on the field of play, they are constantly abused.”
Despite the relatively low levels of disorder at Euro 2004, held in Portugal, and the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, senior officers are worried that Germany will be harder to police. It has open borders with nine neighbouring countries.

More than 3,200 England fans identified as troublemakers will be stranded at home under banning orders that require them to surrender their passports and report to local police stations on match days.

One police source, with responsibility for monitoring Europe-wide hooliganism, said peaceful England fans might now be prime targets for troublemakers seeking to test their prowess.
Superintendent Andreas Morbach, joint head of the German police Landeskriminalamt football intelligence unit, based in Düsseldorf, said: “We have a big potential for violence from our supporters. They live here, they know how to act and they are now prepared.”
Morbach said that 9,000-10,000 German hooligans could become violent, depending on the provocation. The German police are concerned that visiting England and Holland fans will be wearing replica plastic Nazi storm-trooper helmets in the colours of their country.
A Dutch firm will this week start production of helmets bearing the flag of St George and the slogan “No One Likes Us” usually chanted by Millwall fans.

Florian Van Laar, joint head of the company producing the helmets, said: “It is meant as a joke. The Germans are not meant to have a sense of humour, but we Dutch do have one. We are getting calls from all over Europe, even from those who have not even qualified for the tournament. After all, the Germans invaded most countries, so people want to wear these. If they think this is provocation, the only thing I can say is, now you know how we feel.”
Morbach said: “It is not nice to have a sports event compared to war. We try to use as our theme for this cup, ‘It’s time to make friends’.”

Burnley FC - Preston North End - 21/01/2006

Source : BURNLEY NEWS

ELEVEN football fans were arrested when trouble erupted following Burnley's derby day battle with Preston.

Five Burnley fans and five Preston fans were arrested during a clash in Yorkshire Street and Church Street shortly after the match.
Police officers working as part of Operation Fixture were quickly on the scene as fans confronted each other and those arrested have been charged with various public order offences.
The eleventh arrest was made after a Burnley fan ran on the pitch following Preston's second goal.
Paul Anthony Wilkinson (36), of Ingham Street, Padiham, was charged with pitch encroachment and has been bailed to appear before Burnley magistrates tomorrow along with the five other Burnley fans.
The Preston fans are due to have their cases heard by magistrates on Thursday.
More than 4,000 Preston fans attended the match which Burnley lost 2-0 with traffic proving more troublesome than normal due to roadworks taking place on Parliament Street.

Watching the hooligans: German police prepare for World Cup - 25/01/2006

Source : AFP

German police are busily amassing intelligence from around the world in a bid to prevent this year's football World Cup finals being marred by brawling hooligans.

Expectations are low among Germans that the World Cup will live up to its official slogan, "A Time to Make Friends".

More than three-quarters of people expect hooliganism in the 12 cities where the matches will be played, while two-thirds believe fans will clash with police in the stadiums, according to a poll carried out by the TNS Emnid institute.

Such fears are not unfounded -- the most recent World Cup played in Europe, the 1998 tournament in France, was scarred by brawling English fans and an attack by German skinheads which left a French policeman physically and mentally disabled.

The last finals, in Japan and South Korea in 2002, were trouble-free, but most observers attributed that to the fact they were staged far from the traditional European 'centres' of hooliganism, such as England and The Netherlands.

The wide availability of cheap beer in Germany, the fact that the country is served by cheap flights from all over Europe and its many shared borders make the 2006 tournament potentially high-risk.

Yet Michael Endler, a high-ranking German police officer and an expert on hooligans from the Office of Criminal Investigation in the western city of Duesseldorf, said there was no reason to panic.

"Not every supporter brandishing a country's flag and holding a glass of beer is going to commit violence," Endler said.

Endler and his staff from the Central Sport Information Unit (ZIS) will play a key role during the finals.

They say the key to preventing violence is intelligence-gathering.

"During the World Cup, we will process between 800 and 1,000 pieces of information from Germany and abroad," Endler said.

Data will be collected centrally and then sent to the police forces in the 16 federal states ahead of each of the 64 matches to allow security arrangements to be planned locally.

"Beyond that there will be officers who know the scene from Germany and abroad reporting on the situation in the stadiums," Endler said.

The unit will swell from its current size of 17 members of staff to around 150 in May and will move to Neuss near Duesseldorf in time for the June 9 kickoff.

Endler's unit was created in 1992 to observe the hooligan scene in Germany because most of the main professional clubs in the country are based in that region. It began working in collaboration with its counterparts abroad for the 2002 World Cup in Asia and the Euro 2004 finals in Portugal.

Diplomatically, Endler refused to be drawn on which countries' fans were considered high-risk.

"Wherever we have the potential for violence, we will be informed by the participating countries shortly before the start of the World Cup. We will then concentrate on those people," Endler said.

Traditionally, the risk of trouble has come from English, Dutch and German fans, yet recent reports from Poland suggest a radical hooligan fringe is on the rise there, a worrying development considering Poland is one of Germany's neighbours and the two nations have been drawn to play each other in the first round.

The danger of trouble at the world's biggest sporting event is considerable -- in Germany alone, the police believe around 10,000 football fans are prone to violence.

And the union of German police officers has warned that many fans from Germany and abroad will seek to pick fights in the host cities, but often far from the stadiums.

The 236 giant television screens to be erected around the country, known as Public Viewing sites, to allow non-ticketholders to see matches are considered possible flashpoints.

"I know of no precedent in which there have been so many Public Viewing sites," Endler said.

Nevertheless, he said he was confident that the football would not be overshadowed by fighting fans.

"I can think of no scenario which would give me sleepless nights."


Picture taken 21 June 1998 shows German supporters throwing chairs at French police in Lens.

Cup tie abandoned after linesman hit by object from crowd-21/01/2006

Source:Reuters

The King's Cup quarter-final second leg between Valencia and Deportivo Coruna was abandoned two minutes before halftime on Wednesday after the linesman was injured when hit by an object thrown from the crowd.
The official was cut on the forehead moments after Valencia striker David Villa put the home side ahead to level the tie 1-1 on aggregate.
Referee Carlos Megia Davila immediately picked up the ball and ordered the players to the changing rooms.
A few minutes later it was announced that the game had been abandoned and the fans were told to leave the stadium.
A Valencia official told reporters: "It appears that the reason was that the linesman was cut on the forehead after something was thrown at him."
The Spanish Football Federation will now decide if the game is to be continued at a later date or abandoned altogether.

Piquionne to stay at St Etienne despite headbutting fan-27/01/2006

Source:Reuters

St Etienne striker Frederic Piquionne says he will not bow to fan pressure and leave the club after assaulting a fan.
Piquionne headbutted a member of the Magic Fans group who had insulted him in the club's car park after the abandoned game against Toulouse on Jan. 15.
The fan, who suffered a broken nose and will need surgery, has lodged a complaint. Piquionne said he was sorry for his behaviour and had apologised.
"I told him I had blown a fuse and that I was sorry," he told sports daily L'Equipe on Friday. The fan group have urged Piquionne to resign.
"It's their choice. I now have to prove them it was a human mistake. I also want to tell them my job in St Etienne is not finished," added the striker, top scorer for the Ligue 1 side this season.
Piquionne was left out of St Etienne's squad in a 4-0 defeat at struggling Sochaux last weekend.

German police to work in England before World Cup-27/01/2006

Source:Reuters

German police will operate in England before this year's soccer World Cup in an advisory capacity to prevent hooligans travelling to the tournament, the Home Office said on Friday.
Home Office minister Paul Goggins also said uniformed English and German police were set to work "side by side" for the first time at a major tournament.
"The Government, police and supporters groups are working hard with the German authorities to make the World Cup a safe and trouble free tournament," Goggins said in a statement.
"The preparations for this year's tournament are extensive and for the first time are likely to include uniformed English and German police officers working side by side."
Goggins said a limited number of German police officers would be placed at UK airports and ports during the summer "to perform a liaison role and be visible to travelling fans" but they would not have powers to arrest anyone.
"This is in order to reassure fans of the German intention to create a welcoming climate for all visiting supporters," he said.
English police will also be deployed in Germany during the June 9 to July 9 tournament in an advisory role but a spokeswoman said it had not yet been decided whether they would have powers of arrest.
A small number of British police officers who specialised in monitoring football violence travelled to the 2004 European championship finals in Portugal to monitor any trouble.
England is likely to send the largest contingent of travelling fans to the World Cup, with 100,000 expected in Germany.
Almost 1,000 English hooligans were detained and expelled after rioting during Euro 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands but there was little trouble at the 2002 World Cup in Asia and Euro 2004 after banning orders were imposed on known trouble-makers.
The system will also be in place for Germany.
"Football banning orders are one of the key tools we are using in the ongoing fight to keep Germany free from any travelling trouble-makers," Goggins said.
German police believe they will be spared any major outbreaks of violence after the draw for the opening stages threw up no high risk matches.
England were drawn against Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago and Sweden in the first round.

Lybia-Ivory Coast - ANC 2006 - 24/12/2006

Source : EMPICS + AFP

Egyptian riot police clear Libyan supporters, who were there from a previous match against Ivory Coast, from the stand after they started damaging sea
ts and throwing projectiles at Egyptian supporters, on the top stand, during the African Nations Cup soccer match between Egypt and Morocco at the Cairo International Stadium.

*************************************************************

CAF fine Egypt and Libya for crowd violence

Egypt and Libya were fined by the Confederation of African Football disciplinary Commission because of the crowd trouble that marred Tuesday's African Nations Cup.

The Egyptian Federation were slapped with a 5,000 dollars fine while their Libyan counterparts were fined 7,000 dollars.

The trouble flared at half-time of Egypt's 0-0 draw with Group A rivals Morocco when Libyan fans - who had stayed on at the Cairo International Stadium following their 2-1 defeat by Ivory Coast - started taunting the host supporters.

The Egyptians - who were in the upper tier - started hurling missiles down on the Libyans and despite a plea from the public address announcer to stop they carried on into the second-half.

Eventually the riot police moved in and forced the Libyan supporters to retreat under the covered part of the stand thereby halting the trouble.

Catanzaro - Verona - 28/01/2006

Source : Corriere della Sera.

Severe riots erupted before the game, opposing both sides of fans. Other riots opposed Verona fans to police forces.
Finally, 8 people were injured and 2 local fans were arrested.

AS Roma - Livorno - 29/01/2006

Source : La Repubblica + Getty Images

Nazi flags in Roma.

Messina fan arrested - 29/01/2006

Source: Ansa

A local fan was arrested as he threw missiles at Catania fans' coaches.

Catania fans were en route to Reggio for watching their team.

A Catania fan was also injured inside a pub by a few Messina rivals.

Ascoli - Juventus - 29/01/2006

Source: Ansa

A Juventus fan was injured and transfered at hospital after local fans threw a home-made bomb on visitors terrace.

Everton FC - Tranmere Rovers - Cup - 29/01/2006

Source: forum

It seems a toe-to-toe erutped between about 30 locals and about 20 visitors.

Wolverhampton Wanderers - Manchester United - Cup - 29/01/2006

Source: forums

It seems that before the game, a United firm (30/40 lads), undetected by police, arrived in front of the main Wolves pub where about 80 lads were present. Except a few bottles threw, Wolves backed off.
At the end of the game, a little off took place between 2 groups but another time at United advantage.

Hearts of Midlothian - Hibernian - 29/01/2006

Source: forum

20 Hibs backed 20 Hearts off at Stratfords then Hearts regrouped and charged at them resulting in Hibs backing off.

Fighting fans disgrace club - 26/01/2006

Source: local newspaper

Nine Oxford United supporters have been banned from attending football matches anywhere in England and Wales after clashing with rival fans.


The men, all from Oxfordshire, were involved in a fight in a Chester bar which spilled out into the street, forcing terrified members of the public to scatter into shops.

On Friday, at Chester Crown Court, the nine fans admitted threatening behaviour.
Each was given an 18-month conditional discharge, ordered to pay £50 costs, and given a three-year banning order under the Football Disorder Act 2000.

The three-year restriction prevents them attending any matches played by Premiership, Football League, or Conference clubs in England and Wales. They are also prevented from entering Oxford city centre, Temple Cowley and the area around the Kassam Stadium on match days. They also cannot travel to towns where away matches are being played.

The clash broke out on November 27, 2004, when Oxford United played a Coca Cola League Two away fixture at Chester City. Thirty-five U's fans were drinking in Yates's wine lodge, shortly before kick-off, when a group of Chester fans went into the pub. A fight started and the trouble spread into the street, with the Oxford fans chasing the Chester fans.

Dc Huw James, Thames Valley Police's football intelligence officer, said: "It was the last shopping Saturday in November and the streets were very busy with shoppers. "It was a very threatening situation for any member of the public, including the elderly and mums with pushchairs, and it was simply by chance that no-one was threatened or hurt as a result.

"In my opinion, this was a well organised fight between the two groups, particularly in light of the fact that the Oxford fans were nowhere near the ground and it was 2.45pm.

Detectives from Oxford's football unit liaised with Cheshire Police after watching CCTV footage of the violence.

Despite the banning orders, the nine Oxford fans were not asked to surrender their passports, which means they can travel to Germany to watch World Cup matches.

Dc James said: "Although I'm very disappointed these individuals did not receive an international banning order, the German authorities, immigration service, and German police could take steps to remind individuals banned in this country that they may not be welcome. "I spoke to the nine after the court case and advised them that if they try to travel to the World Cup, they could be refused entry to the country.

"I'm delighted the investigation has culminated in these banning orders. This sends out a very strong message to anyone prepared to engage in disorder at football, that they will be dealt with, and on every occasion a banning order will be sought."

Oxford United general manager Steve Hanks said last night: "We do not condone hooliganism at football games, from our fans or anyone else. "All Football League clubs have been working to eliminate a long-standing problem, and have gone a long way to improving the position within grounds over the past few years. "We're pleased the court has dealt with this case in a sensible manner."

No Chester City fans were prosecuted as a result of the brawl.

AJ Auxerre - Rennes - 28/01/2006

Source : Mail

Good off of 20 seconds, opposing both sides. Police forces made an intervention and 3 fans were arrested (2 locals + 1 from Rennes)


Rennes

Benfica SL - Sporting Lisboa - 28/01/06

Source: post

Around 50 Sporting casuals went to game. Near the stadium 20 to 30 No Name Boys appeared from behind and threw some rocks. Police intervined separating both sides. One detention on Sporting side.

Roma risk stadium ban over anti-semitic banners-30/01/2006

Source:Reuters

AS Roma risk a stadium ban after their fans held up banners with neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic slogans during a 3-0 win over Livorno in Serie A at the weekend.
The club immediately sought to distance itself from its fans.
"I'm absolutely against anyone who tries to bring politics into the stadiums," Roma coach Luciano Spalletti was quoted as saying in Corriere dello Sport on Monday. "It should remain outside."
The mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni, reflected the coach's words and added: "Rome is the city of the deportation of the Jews, the city of the Fosse Ardeatine (the site where German soldiers killed Jews during the Second World War). We cannot tolerate behaviour of this kind."
Roma narrowly avoided a stadium ban earlier this season after a bottle hit the referee at the end of the derby with Lazio.
Among the people calling for the club to be punished was the head of the city's Jewish community, Vittorio Pavoncello.
"We will ask for the intervention of the sporting authorities," he said.
The incident will cause more damage to Italian football's tarnished public image.
Lazio's Paolo Di Canio has received 10,000 euro fines and one-match bans twice in the last month for making raised-arm fascist salutes during Serie A games.

Italy's interior minister calls for crackdown on nazi fans - 31/01/2006

Source : AFP

Italy's Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said that football games should be suspended if any nazi or facist symbols are displayed by supporters.

This comes two days after Roma fans brandished flags with swastikas, celtic crosses and pictures of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini at their Serie A match at home to Livorno.

Under legislation brought in by Pisanu last summer, the football authorities have the power to suspend games if offensive banners or flags are on display.

No match has so far been suspended for such an offence, despite similar events involving Lazio fans earlier in the season.

Roma said they were doing all they could to prevent offensive symbols being brought into the Olympic stadium and that it was down to the police to confiscate them because it is they who carry out the checks at the turnstiles.

Despite Pisanu's apparently tough stance, he admitted that the suspension of a match or any intervention by the police could create "extreme tension and possibly endanger peaceful supporters".

Roma punished for Nazi symbols - 31/01/2006

Source :

Roma were ordered to play their next Serie A home match behind closed doors at a neutral venue as punishment for the Nazi symbols displayed by their fans at last Sunday's game against Livorno.

To provoke the largely left-wing leaning Livorno fans, Roma supporters in the Olympic stadium's south stand waved flags with swastikas and held aloft an anti-semitic banner.

In addition to the one-match ban on supporters, the Italian football league's disciplinary panel also fined Roma a total of 12,000 euros (14,485 dollars).

Five thousand euros was for the Nazi symbols and the rest was for the unruly behaviour of their fans during the match, which included throwing missiles at visiting Livorno fans and lighting flares.

Livorno were given a 3,000 euro fine for their supporters' part in the clashes.

Roma's home game against Cagliari on February 8 will now be played behind closed doors at a neutral ground, which has yet to be chosen by the Italian football league.

Earlier Tuesday, Italy's Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said football games should be suspended if any Nazi or fascist symbols are on display inside the stadium.

Under legislation brought in by Pisanu last summer, football authorities have the power to suspend games if offensive banners or flags are seen in the stands.

No match has so far been suspended for such an offence, despite similar events involving Lazio fans earlier in the season.

Roma said they were doing all they could to prevent offensive symbols being brought into the Olympic stadium and that it was down to the police to confiscate them because it is they who carry out the checks at the turnstiles.

Despite Pisanu's apparently tough stance, he admitted that the suspension of a match or any intervention by the police could create "extreme tension and possibly endanger peaceful supporters".

Uniformed British bobbies to patrol World Cup games in Germany - 29/01/2006

Source : news.telegraph

About 100 uniformed British police officers will be on duty in Germany during England's World Cup matches in the summer.

Senior officers regularly send plain-clothed "spotters" to identify trouble-makers at international football tournaments but this year's World Cup will be the first time that uniformed officers have been allowed to work on foreign streets.

The move, to be announced by the Home Office and German authorities next month, is an attempt to pre-empt violence at England's group matches in Nuremberg, Cologne and Frankfurt and, if England progress, at games in cities such as Munich and Berlin.

The officers, who will be chosen from forces across England and Wales, will help to spot hooligans but will also intervene to "take the heat out" of potential clashes between English fans and German police.

No decision has been taken on whether they will have powers of arrest, although it is thought unlikely.

A senior Home Office official last night admitted that it was "a bit strange to think about British bobbies on duty at the Brandenburg Gate". But he added: "This is an imaginative move and we think it could make a big difference."

The presence of British officers would "serve as a reminder to potential trouble-makers that they may be abroad but we have still got our eye on them", he said.

Many England fans also felt that they were "treated like hooligans from the minute they arrive for a match in a foreign country", he said.

"Some foreign police forces can be a bit heavy-handed with English supporters. By having British police in uniform on the ground we hope that they will be able to reassure and calm down the England fans and take the heat out of volatile situations."

British officers would also be able to help defuse situations just by talking to the fans in English.

"German police officers speak a bit of English but English fans are not renowned for their languages and that can cause unnecessary misunderstandings," the spokesman said.

An official at the German Interior Ministry said: "We have no problem with British police officers helping us during the World Cup. We are looking forward to working with our English colleagues."

About 100,000 England fans are expected to travel to Germany for the World Cup, most of them without tickets.

England's ticket allocation for the first round group matches against Trinidad and Tobago, Paraguay and Sweden in June is only about 3,000 per game after Fifa, the sport's world governing body, ruled that each country's fans will receive only eight per cent of the tickets for each game.

Life ban promise for football thugs - 29/01/2006

Source : Sunday Life

A JUDGE has been praised after cracking down on football hooligans who sparked a terrifying pitch invasion during a 'Big Two' match in Belfast.

And Glentoran director Jim Rodgers pledged his club would heed the judge's suggestion - by barring troublemakers for LIFE.

Eight thugs were recently dealt with for their part in a riot that erupted during a crunch match between Glentoran and Linfield last April. They received sentences ranging from three years in jail to 175 hours community service.

Judge Tom Burgess made it clear that if he had the power to impose football bans - like colleagues in Britain - he would have. He further urged both clubs to study a video of the riot and "weed out" those who had not yet been brought to justice.

Mr Rodgers said: "I cannot praise the judge enough. He has sent out a stern warning that such behaviour at football matches will no longer be tolerated.

"Both ourselves and Linfield are in complete agreement - anyone identified as having taken part will face a life ban from our grounds."