Good behaviour

By Tom Geoghegan
BBC News

What rivalry?

Toe the line at the World Cup, and the poor reputation of England fans could become a distant memory, says the man heading the English policing operation in Germany this summer.

They have an image even PR guru Max Clifford might struggle to salvage.

Despite good behaviour at the last two major football tournaments, England fans can't seem to shake their hooligan reputation.

Ask anyone how they predict the fans will behave in Germany and expect some negative answers, thanks to the shameful violence which characterised a minority of fans over decades.

But among the people directly involved in security, there's plenty of optimism.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Thomas, of Greater Manchester Police, heads the largest policing operation of its kind involving 83 officers, some in uniform patrolling the streets with their German colleagues.

And he is confident this tournament will mark a turning point in public attitudes.

"The reputation should have been put to bed after Euro 2004 but it takes a long time for a reputation like that to go away.

All I ask is that people look at Euro 2004 and allow our fans to prove how good they can behave Steve Thomas Timeline: Fans' behaviour

"Some people think Portugal in 2004 was a one-off but if the supporters can maintain that for Germany there's no reason to think that image won't disappear.

"After Germany people will finally realise it has gone away and start treating them as they should be, which is on the way they behave and not on previous reputation.

"All I ask is that people look at Euro 2004 and allow our fans to prove how good they can be."

Portugal wasn't trouble-free but the fighting was restricted to holiday resorts a long way from the matches, and Mr Thomas is adamant this was not football-related.

Good behaviour

Disorder at football club stadiums has dropped dramatically, he says, and there have only been five arrests at the last nine England matches. What's brought on this improvement?

A joint determination by the Home Office, the football authorities, the clubs, police and supporters was the driving force, says Mr Thomas.

WORLD CUP POLICING 48 uniformed officers from UK 14 plain clothes 'spotters' 6 intelligence officers 8 officers in transit countries 250 uniformed officers in total from across EU

"It was getting to the stage where England supporters went away and were being treated as if they were criminals with very heavy-handed policing.

"Ordinary fans were frightened and the government wasn't prepared for us to have the reputation as the worst football supporters in the world."

The Heysel, Hillsborough and Bradford disasters helped focus minds on stadium safety, backed by the best and strongest legislation in Europe, he says.

Offences inside the stadium, such as throwing things or racist chanting, can lead to a conviction and a banning order which prevents fans watching their club or the national team.

There will be 3,600 people forced to stay at home during the World Cup with their passports submitted to police. But those who do go and cause trouble can expect a familiar hand wielding the punishment.

Forty-eight uniformed officers from the UK, nearly all fluent in a second language, will try to reassure supporters while providing intelligence to German authorities. For the first time, members of the Crown Prosecution Service will travel to ensure anyone convicted gets a ban.

No goose-stepping

The manner of policing is widely regarded as a major factor behind violence and the German and English officers will adopt a friendly approach.

There are plenty of cultural similarities between the two nations, he says, like the atmosphere at football grounds and a shared fondness of alcohol. But he points to one crucial difference - the English "fixation" with the war.

No more Mr Bad Guy?

"Nazi salutes and goose-stepping are criminal offences in Germany and everyone knows they're forbidden. Our supporters have to understand they find those actions deeply insulting. It's not funny."

Germans do have a good sense of humour, he says, and don't even mind hearing the song 10 German Bombers in a stadium, but anything that glorifies the Nazi party will not be tolerated.

The hosts plan a warm welcome and for the first time, fans without tickets are encouraged to come and watch the games on large football screens. And England fans have organised "goodwill" events to bond with the locals.

If a Rooney-less England progress from their group they could play either the hosts or Poland, which has growing support among the far-right.

A group of 10 drunk English people - that could be hard to prevent Steve Thomas

Added to this security headache, there's also the risk of disorder in the UK, so Mr Thomas is not complacent.

"It could be in the hands of a few fans who in the hot weather perhaps drink a lot and misjudge the strength of the German beers and get drunk.

"We will probably see some problems with some misbehaviour but not the full-scale riots we saw in 1998 and 2000. A group of 10 drunk English people - that could be hard to prevent."

---

Your comments:

I believe that we are our own enemy sometimes. The press focus on any trouble, however minor as it sells newspapers and gets viewers! Our reputation is undeserved though, if you look at the racist behaviour of some Spaniards, the Violence of some Italians, it is more severe than this country. In Argentina a few years ago, they actually postponed the season for a while as crowd trouble was so bad!
Chris, England

It's nothing to do with football, that's just an excuse! Tabloid "news"-paper headlines since decades foster the "Germans? Heil Hitler!" approach. Look, too, at most stories involving Germans or Germany even in the broadsheets and see what epithets, what verbs and adjectives they use, what cliched generalisations they take for granted. I am British, living in Berlin. When I go for a drink in a London pub and someone asks me what I do or where I live, it starts. If only Brits realised the contempt that the rest of Europe has for their pathetic, blinkered, nationalistic way of seeing things.
Brian, Germany

Most European countries have football trouble in one way or another. Everyone knows the history of some of our travelling support but, although no real excuse, people forget about the incitement and provocation that is aimed at England fans abroad by both other fans and sadly at times also police. Either way i think this is more of an issue for us than anyone else. If you ask German officials where their main concerns are this year it isn't from England fans it's the Polish. Maybe for once the media will let us enjoy the football.
chris, England

Why are the english fixated with the war? They were not the only nation who fought the Germans yet no other nation has the same hangups. Hooliganism is derived from a nation struggling with its identity, and understanding who they are in the modern and evolving world.
Glenn, UK

Do the English deserve to lose the tag of being hooligans? Clearly not - anyone who has ever been on holiday with English people can vouch for that Maybe the organized violence isn't what it was but the general attitude is
Lance, England

After the many years of terrible scenes being shown on television news and in the papers, I think it's going to take a long and 100% trouble free period to be able to claim that English football is not plagued by hooligans. Whenever we travel abroad, locals are wary of us until they find out we're Scottish, not English - and then the hospitality starts. You see, maybe you should try behaving when you abroad, and earn the respect of the rest of the world.
Pete Ness, Somewhere north of Carlisle

I think it is for the best if everyone just gets on with getting behind our boys for the world cup instead of everyone saying how violent we are, no wonder we got such a bad reputation! COME ON ENGLAND!!!!!!!
alan o'neill, england

Sensible policing? Perhaps we could try implementing this at home as well as abroad.
Graham, UK

I've visited Berlin twice in two years, and it's the best city in the world. Hopefully our fans can keep their heads and get on with the exceptionally friendly (and remarkably similar) German people and create a strong bond to bury old stereotypes from both our countries.
Joe, Bristol

I think it's a shame the media don't highlight how good domestic fans have been in England and still like to push the image that English fans are potential hooligans. The Italians have major problems Inter fans threw a moped of the top tier of the San Siro a few weeks ago and physically attacked Inter players after being knocked out of the Champions League. Fights still go on in and around their grounds; if this happened in England we would be banned from Europe.
Harry, London, England

Regarding comment "a group of 10 drunk English people - that could be hard to prevent" the problem is that this type of minority will get all the headlines, perhaps it would be better if the press took a more balanced view instead of looking for the headline grabber. Cannot really see the headline "England fans behave" making it to the front pages, where's the sensation in it.
Gary, England

Germany has been our actual and perceived enemy for a hundred years. Having the World Cup there is simply bound to incite problems. In the absence of anyone to actually have a real war with our 'youth' will inevitably aquire the tribal instinct to bond together to hate someone, it is unfortunately just human nature. The other nationalities all do it too, most recently I notice, the Poles. I hope sincerely the 'powers that be' clamp down very hard or it could be a difficult tournament for the organisers - and not just because of the British
David, UK

Terms & Conditions