Euro 2000 row looms

Turkish fans go on the rampage in Brussels

Uefa is coming under increasing pressure to act after Turkish football fans rioted in Brussels on Monday night.

Uefa has already threatened England with expulsion from Euro 2000 after hundreds of its supporters fought with police and rival fans in Charleroi before England's 1-0 victory over Germany.

But violence involving Turkish fans in Brussels on Monday night has drawn a much less severe response - prompting concerns that England are being singled out for criticism.

Uefa chief executive, Gerhard Aigner, described the violence by Turkish fans as "a joyful party' which went too far. He said it did not compare with the behaviour of England's supporters.

English blamed

And the mayor of Brussels has blamed English fans for the latest incidents, saying their behaviour over the weekend had caused a "chain reaction", leading to the trouble involving Turkish fans.

England face a ban after fans ran riot

Francois-Xavier de Donnea, said: "These were people still looking for British hooligans, for revenge.

"They still feel they were psychologically attacked by the British hooligans."

The English Football Supporters' Association is now demanding that Uefa withdraws its threat to ban England and says the failure to issue a warning to Turkey highlights the "stupidity of the decision".

Turkish violence

"By the same logic they should now throw Turkey out," said association spokeswomen Alison Pilling.

Turkish fans, celebrating their team's 2-0 win over host nation Belgium, fought running battles with police in the streets of Brussels.

A BBC correspondent said that in contrast to the zero-tolerance displayed towards the English fans on Saturday, the Belgian police initially stood back on Monday.

But riot police were eventually deployed and several arrests were made.

Turkey's previous game against Italy was followed by violence and Turks have been involved in clashes with English fans between games.

Relations strained

Ms Pilling said the Belgian authorities had made no distinction between what she described as the majority of law-abiding fans and the small minority of racist hooligans.

"This has led to many instances of English fans being victims of hooliganism by fans of other nations as well as being punished for the actions of others by heavy-handed policing," Ms Pilling said.

Relations between English and Turkish fans have been strained since the fatal stabbing of two Leeds United fans in Istanbul before a Uefa Cup semi-final against Galatasary in April.

Police detained 43 people and charged 18 for violence and possession of knives in the wake of the Turkish fans' rampage in Brussels.

But correspondents say Belgian authorities played down the scale of the trouble.

Newspapers in Turkey have hailed their team's win but ignored the ensuing violence.