Red Card for England Fans in Stuttgart

Some 60,000 English fans are expected to descend on the south-western German city for Sunday's game, posing a challenge to security officials.

Riot police held 378 English soccer fans on Saturday night after they clashed with German supporters and threw bottles, tables and chairs in a square in the city center, where Germans had watched their team's 2-0 victory over Sweden on giant TV screens.

"I don't consider these people to be English football supporters because they actually damage the reputation of the many thousands of real English supporters that will be here today," Stephen Thomas, the head of the British police team working in Germany, told Reuters on Sunday.

Police said 122 supporters were taken into protective custody Friday night for aggressive behavior. Many fans had been drinking alcohol for most of the day. "We gave them a yellow card and after that, just like in soccer, we showed them red," said a police spokesman.

Of the 378 held on Saturday night, 375 have been released, but told they are banned from returning to the city center.

Higher fences

The senior British police officer advising the German authorities, Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Thomas, of Greater Manchester Police, said the troublemakers were drunks, not hooligans.

But as a precaution against further trouble, the World Cup organizing committee (OK) has ordered that the height of the security fences around the Gottlieb Daimler stadium where Sunday's match with Ecuador takes place be increased to better separate the fans.

"From a security point of view, we haven't increased the security level of the game between England and Ecuador," said an OK spokesperson. "It remains at a middle level like the games before it, which is normal."

Stuttgart police will have 1,900 police on duty to prevent any incidents with another 4,000 deployed throughout the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. Police spokesman Erwin Hetger refused to rule out clashes between English and "problem" German fans but said security officials had no indication that there had been any mobilization of hooligans.

"Any hooligans would have left after the fifth police warning," he told Britain's Press Association.

Mostly good behavior

Police said the English fans were in a good mood for most of the day but became aggressive as the evening wore on and began hurling objects.

"We had to move in because there was a danger of passers-by getting injured," said a police spokesman. Police said most of those detained would be released during the course of Saturday, while a magistrate would examine the most serious cases.

An estimated 15,000 Ecuador fans are also expected in Stuttgart. Some 30,000 English fans were expected to be in the stadium for the match, while the rest planned to watch on big screens and in bars in the city.

While the English have a long history of soccer-related violence, prior to Friday night's outburst there had been little disorder involving English fans. Only about 50 of them have been arrested since the World Cup started two weeks ago.