There were two senior German police officers in the room at Whitehall on Tuesday to relate that England supporters at Euro 2024 would be welcome, but songs from a drunken fringe about World War II would not.
‘You have to respect our country. It’s important that fans get information about what is acceptable,’ one of them said, pointing out that fans who persist in disorder would be fined and marched to a cashpoint, on the spot, to pay up. What was the maximum fine? he was asked. There didn’t seem to be maximum.
The presence of the Germans at a briefing staged by British police and the Foreign Office revealed how far removed the policing of this event is from Euro 2016, where the uncompromising French police simply rolled out the water cannon and unleashed it on offending supporters.
Britain’s top football police officer, Mark Roberts, has not known a level of international cooperation for a tournament to match the Germans across his ten years in the role.
Forces of both nations are bending over backwards to help any fans who consume too much ale and behave poorly avoid arrest. The Germans are welcoming with open arms the presence of British police ‘spotters’ – experienced officers who know fans and are there to step in before all hell lets loose.
German police have warned England supporters about their behaviour at the upcoming European Championship taking place in Germany this summer
Forces of both England and Germany are bending over backwards to help any fans who consume too much ale and behave poorly avoid arrest
Gareth Southgate and his England stars will be well-supported at the tournament in Germany
‘The Germans like a drink of beer just like us,’ said Roberts. ‘That minority is not that different to ours. They accept that low level of intervention.’
But there is a line and German tolerance for those who cross it has its limits. British police have not been helped one bit by the fact that a court has just inexplicably cut short a four-year banning order imposed on serial hooligan and trouble-maker Tommy Robinson, former leader of the English Defence League, freeing him to travel to the tournament.
British officers, who have 2,000 banning orders in place preventing hooligans from travelling, need Robinson in Germany like a hole in the head because the risk of disorder is undeniable. This is the first tournament in close proximity to the UK since the 2016 Euros, which concluded with Russians beating some England to fans to within an inch of their lives in Marseille.
The concern for police is the new minority of young offenders who have brought disorder to football since Covid, with cocaine as well as alcohol a contributing factor.
Those who decide that songs about ‘Ten German Bombers’ and the ‘RAF from England’ that ‘shot them down’ need to know that the penalties for a breach of public order vary according to which German state they are committed within. The southern German states are broadly seen as the most conservative and least tolerant.
Making the Nazi salute is punishable by imprisonment in Germany, as is the use of the swastika. ‘You must understand that this is because of our history,’ said one of the German officers. Setting an Israeli flag alight can also bring imprisonment.
Stressing the fact that the vast majority of England supporters have always been a credit to the nation and asking that they be judged on their ‘behaviour and not their reputation’, Roberts urged the minority of the 300,000 travelling fanbase to apply common sense.
‘Let’s be realistic – with some of this stuff, you don’t need telling that it’s going to be a criminal offence in a western democracy,’ he said. ‘If you go and behave in the way that you would in this country, you are going to be fine. You don’t need to check the finer points of German legislation.’
Tommy Robinson (pictured), former leader of the English Defence League, is free to travel after a court cut short a four-year banning order imposed on the serial hooligan
England fans previously clashed with French police during violent scenes at the tournament in France eight-years ago
England fans have been warned they could be prosecuted for breaching public orders if they sing songs about ’10 German Bombers’ and the ‘RAF from England’ that ‘shot them down’
The most senior operational British police officer on the ground at the tournament, Chief Superintendent Colette Rose, of Greater Manchester Police, said parents had a role to play.
‘We would urge parents to have a conversation with those kids about behaviour when travelling abroad. We will be there to help English supporters to go and enjoy it and not get into trouble.’
The disorder within the UK which can accompany a successful England tournament is another story. The further the team goes, the worse it gets, police data shows. There were 123 UK arrests during the Qatar World Cup and 599 during Euro 2020But it is conduct on their own soil that the German officers were thinking about it.
‘We will work with British, so we know if one of their offenders has a history of causing trouble. We always look to act accordingly but we cannot be naive. We are paid to police and maintain order.’
