Seven arrests after clashes outside England vs Serbia

Seven arrests have been made following clashes ahead of England’s opening match of the 2024 European Championship against Serbia.

Preparations for the Group C match in Gelsenkirchen were marred by reports of violence in the city ahead of the match.

Footage emerged that appeared to show a number of supporters in a mass brawl outside a restaurant, with chairs and other furniture flying around before local police intervened to defuse tensions.

Local police said the incident involved fans from both England and Serbia, and later confirmed that seven people – all Serbian citizens – had been taken into custody and a criminal complaint had been filed for grievous bodily harm.

They also confirmed – contrary to some reports on social media – that there was no connection between the incident and Albanian citizens.

The British authorities, who are supporting local officials in Germany, said they would ban all British citizens who might be involved in the matter from entering the country.

A statement from the British football police said: “We are aware of a problem in Gelsenkirchen ahead of the England v Serbia match. Our German colleagues have arrested a number of people who we currently believe to be Serbian fans.”

“At this stage we do not believe that any British citizens have been arrested, but investigations are ongoing. Our officers are on site and are speaking to German colleagues.

“Our investigation team is currently reviewing footage of the incident and will seek a stadium ban if British nationals were involved.”

Germany has increased its security measures for the tournament: 2.7 million fans will attend the games in ten stadiums, and another 12 million in the fan zones.

The previous Sunday, a man was shot after threatening police with a hammer during an incident near a fan park for the 2024 European Championship in the Hamburg district of St. Pauli.

(Sascha Schürmann/Getty Images)