England fans detained by police

[Isaac]

England fans detained by police

England fans are gathering in the city ahead of Sunday's match
Dozens of England fans in Germany have been arrested after an evening of disturbances.
Around 100 arrests were made in the early hours of Saturday morning by police in Stuttgart.

Police said a number of bottles and chairs were thrown into a crowd by a rowdy group of fans from the terrace of a bar in the city's main square.

Two arrests were for chair-throwing, one for possession of cocaine and the rest were "preventative arrests".

A police spokesman said the fans who were arrested would go before a judge. They could be banned from the city centre.

The square is also the location of the Fans Fest, the main big screen facility in the city.

Stuttgart police spokesman Stefan Keilbach said: "Some English fans had been drinking all day outside a cafe in the Schlossplatz and they became aggressive, throwing chairs and bottles at other people and the police.

"Officers made 100 arrests. Nobody was hurt."

Insulting songs

Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Thomas, who's in charge of the British police officers in Germany for the World Cup told the BBC how the trouble started.

"By six o'clock there were 300 to 400 people singing very well - it was a bit like a male voice choir at one stage with them all lined up on the steps, and a very good party atmosphere,' he said.

"Unfortunately after midnight the numbers reduced to about 200. They then started singing racist and quite insulting songs about quite a lot of people, throwing some chairs, bottles and tables, and at that stage the German police tried to disperse them.

"A hard core of about 80 to 100 refused to go and had a standoff with police, and then a decision was taken to arrest them under the preventative powers the police here in Germany have."

England are due to play Ecuador in Stuttgart on Sunday at 1600 BST.