England fans deported

Police snatch squads target troublemakers in Brussels

The first English football fans to be deported following violence in Belgium are being deported back to the UK.

The disgraced fans will return on a ship specially chartered by the Belgian government.

A total of 374 England supporters were arrested by Belgian police in Charleroi and the capital, Brussels, after disturbances on the eve of England's Euro 2000 clash with Germany.

An English football fan who was stabbed in the back during violent clashes with local youths in the centre of Charleroi is now said to be in a stable condition in hospital.

The cells are very welcoming

Major Michel Rompen

Police in Belgium, who fired tear gas and used plain-clothed snatch squads to control the violence, had warned of a "double zero tolerance" policy towards troublemakers.

Others fans are expected to be returned on six flights to an undisclosed UK airport.

Many English soccer fans arriving in Belgium by Eurostar may also be turned away, after British Transport Police forwarded details of a number of passengers to authorites on the other side of the channel.

Hardline approach

The mayor of Brussels, Francois-Xavier de Donnea, described the behaviour of English fans as "disgusting" and defended the hardline approach taken by police to round up the troublemakers.

About 31 fans could appear in court in Brussels on criminal charges ranging from causing injury to inciting violence, and vandalism.

Home Office minister Lord Bassam, who is visiting Belgium on Saturday to observe operations to deal with English fans, came out in support of the police action.

"(The Belgians) promised a swift and firm response and that is what we want," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

The violence overnight is likely to increase tensions in Charleroi, where at least 16,000 England fans are expected for the vital game against Germany, which kicks off at 19.45BST.

Rioting fans in Charleroi used chairs as ammunition

The stabbing of the English fan, who has not been named, is thought to have been carried out by a member of Charleroi's sizeable Turkish population.

A police spokesman said a Belgian girl was slightly injured in the disturbances and two police officers were also slightly hurt.

Bar brawls

One man was arrested for an alleged "judicial offence" involving attacking the police. He is expected to be dealt with by the courts on Saturday.

The trouble in Brussels is believed to have started after police closed an Irish pub in the Place de la Bourse, a few hundred yards from the city's centrepiece, Grand Place.

Riot police fired tear gas into the bar to force out rowdy England fans who had barricaded themselves inside, chanting and throwing chairs and beer bottles at police.

Officers wrestled fans to the ground as they spilled out of the bar, with many holding their hands to their mouths and some vomiting from the effects of the tear gas.

About 300 Belgian riot police, working with official English "spotters", operated in squads to snatch targeted troublemakers.

"Minority are to blame"

The England fans were also reported to be well organised, operating with spotters of their own to target rival fans and media.

Some of the fans threw beer, cans and plastic cups at passing cars and shop windows were smashed. Police in Charleroi have created special holding cells that can contain hundreds of fans if necessary.

Belgian police have promised zero tolerance if there is trouble on Saturday

"The cells are very welcoming," warned Major Michel Rompen, a police spokesman.

Eight prosecutors will be on duty to put troublemakers quickly behind bars.

Some reports have said that up to 40,000 English fans could cross the Channel for the match at the 30,000-seat Stade du Pays de Charleroi stadium, a site considered by some to be far too small for one of Euro 2000's hottest games.

Earlier on Friday, the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) in London had said that around 60 people have now been refused entry to Belgium, Holland or Germany during the tournament.