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World Cup: Germany, England fans held in Cologne

A large gang of known German hooligans and 22 England fans were detained in Cologne before and after the World Cup Group B match against Sweden, police said yesterday.

In an isolated incident, riot police detained a large group of German soccer hooligans who were drinking in a bar in the center of town.

A Cologne police spokesman said the group was thought to number about 50 hooligans, but the city's police president later said he thought some 30 had been held.

"They were resisting their detention and it was not all peaceful," Cologne police spokesman Bernd Kalkum said, adding that all the men detained were registered as trouble-makers and would be kept overnight.

Tens of thousands of England and Sweden fans had poured into the historic World Cup host city for their side's third group match while German supporters were also celebrating their team's 3-0 win over Ecuador earlier in the day.

A spokeswoman for a team of British police officers working in Germany said the English arrests were mostly for minor offences with 11 held at the stadium for trying to get in without tickets and 11 in the town.

The evening in Cologne, where England drew 2-2 to go top of Group B, passed off mainly peacefully although there was one standoff between England fans and German riot police with the supporters throwing glasses and chairs.

The police dispersed the crowd quickly and Cologne police president Klaus Steffenhagen told reporters he was pleased with the situation.

"It was a difficult situation but there were enough policemen around. They handled the situation with great professionalism," he said.

Meanwhile, Munich police said yesterday they had arrested four drunken fans, including one Greek, for celebrating Germany's 3-0 World Cup win over Ecuador with the "Sieg Heil" Hitler salute.

Fellow fans alerted police when the men, aged 20 to 28, began shouting the salute as celebrations broke out after they had watched the match in a bar on Tuesday.

The four have since been released, but could face charges for breaking the law by openly supporting a banned organization. German law prohibits the display of Nazi symbols or the use of Nazi salutes.
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