Hooligans banned from Greece match

The Home Office wants to avoid scenes like this

The Home Office has banned hundreds of football hooligans from travelling ahead of England's World Cup qualifying match against Greece on Wednesday.

More than 450 known thugs have been sent letters ordering them to hand in their passports at local police stations.

These pests must not be allowed to ruin the game for everyone else

NCIS spokesman

The move is designed to prevent trouble, such as the violent clashes involving England fans in last year's Euro 2000 tournament in Brussels.

It has also emerged that a section of Athens' 74,000 capacity Olympic Stadium is being reserved for England fans turning up on the day without tickets.

Some 30,000 to 40,000 tickets have been sold, of which 3,800 have gone to supporters who have travelled officially with the England Members' Club, which is being disbanded after this match.

'Extensive' preparations

The latest orders, issued under the Football Disorder Act 2000, became active from last Friday.

The act allows police to stop not only convicted hooligans but also suspected troublemakers from travelling to matches.

It was introduced within weeks of nearly 900 England fans being deported following riots on the streets of Charleroi in Belgium last year.

A Home Office spokeswoman pointed out that there has not been any "significant" disorder involving England fans since Euro 2000 but said British police would be in Athens to collect evidence for possible future banning orders.

Police fear trouble from a "small percentage" of hooligans

Bans can be imposed even if suspects have no convictions for football violence if police can persuade a magistrate that an order would help prevent future violence or disorder.

She said the Home Office has been working closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the National Criminal Intelligence Service to make "extensive" preparations in the run-up to the match.

The NCIS's Football Intelligence Service, which has been working with counterparts in Greece, said 44 of the 454 banned fans had criminal records for violence or disorder.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to show the world that England fans can be well-behaved abroad at the time of an important game," said an NCIS spokesman.

I hope the English fans will enjoy themselves

Assistant Chief Constable Ron Hogg

"These 454 orders show that the legislation is working. It's now really starting to bear fruit.

"These pests must not be allowed to ruin the game for everyone else."

Kevin Miles, international co-ordinator for the Football Supporters' Association said that nobody wanted hooliganism as a part of football.

But he maintained that fans should not be "singled out as the only category of people for whom the principle no longer stands that you are innocent until proven guilty".

John Wadham, director of the civil rights organisation Liberty, added that the banning orders were a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Tight security

Large numbers of England fans flew to Greece from the UK on Monday. Police security around the central Syntagma Square area, near the parliament building, is being kept tight.

It is feared that English holidaymakers on the Greek islands may rush in to buy tickets just before the match.

But Assistant Chief Constable Ron Hogg, of Durham Police, leading the British police operation assisting the Greeks, insisted there was a good track record between fans of the two countries.

"I hope the English fans will enjoy themselves," he said.

"I think the fact that so many English people come here on holiday is good. The Greek police are used to dealing with them."

He conceded that there could be some English troublemakers, but said they were likely to represent "less than 1%" of the fans.