Security Correspondent

BERLIN, June 1 (Reuters) Hearty German hospitality is meant to be the hallmark of this year's World Cup, but foreign hooligans who abuse it may end up staying longer than they planned.

Rather than simply kicking them out of the country, prosecutors are warning they will face the full weight of German justice, including possible jail terms.

Authorities expect few problems in the 12 stadiums, thanks to a personalised ticketing system that makes it ''highly improbable'' that known troublemakers will get access to matches, officials say.

''We assume very few hooligans will be in a position to get tickets,'' Berlin police chief Dieter Glietsch said this week.

''But many will arrive without tickets, because fans who are looking for violence are more interested in trouble-making on the fringes than they are in the soccer match. So we need to take special measures to protect the inner city.'' Huge crowds are expected to gather in Berlin's ''fan mile'' along the wide avenue and adjacent park stretching west from the Brandenburg Gate, where matches will be shown live on giant screens.

That poses a potential nightmare for police, concerned about spontaneous clashes between rival fans as passions run high and beer flows freely. Tens of thousands more will gather at an estimated 400 such ''public viewing areas'' across Germany.

MASS BRAWL Another worry is the prospect of pre-arranged battles between rival national groups competing to show who's tougher, as happened last November when German and Polish hooligans met up for a mass brawl in woods on the German side of the border.

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