June 17 – Seven Serbian fans were taken into custody after scuffles broke out in Gelsenkirchen ahead of Sunday’s game against England, the first in the tournament to have been designated as “high risk”.
Videos circulating on social media showed tables, chairs and bottles thrown before riot police arrived.
“There was a confrontation between Serbian and English football fans in the city of Gelsenkirchen,” said a police spokesman.
“The two fan groups were separated. Seven people were taken into custody. There was also a complaint of grievous bodily harm. The background to this is still unclear.”
There were also reports of clashed between Serbian and Albanian fans.
A spokesman for the UK Football Policing Unit added: “We are aware of an issue in Gelsenkirchen ahead of the England v Serbia match.
“Our German colleagues have made a number of arrests of what we currently believe to be Serbian supporters. At this stage we do not believe that any UK nationals have been arrested but enquiries are ongoing.”
There have also been reports and videos circulating of England fans provocatively mocking their hosts by singing ‘10 German bombers’ to the tune of ‘Ten Green Bottles’ nursery rhyme, defying warnings from German police.
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