German police charge 96 fans over Dortmund clashes

DORTMUND, June 15: Police have charged 96 people with criminal offences following clashes ahead of Germany's World Cup match with neighbours Poland in the worst outbreak of trouble at the tournament so far.

A police spokesman today said that 429 fans were detained either because they were known Polish or German hooligans or their behaviour was aggressive and threatening and police wished to prevent violence from escalating.

Of those detained 278 were German and 119 were Poles. By this morning police had released all but three fans.

Germany won the Group A match 1-0 to top the standings on six points while Poland are without a point after two games.

In the worst clash German fans pelted police with beer bottles, fireworks and chairs and tables from restaurants near Dortmund's Alter Markt after hundreds of riot police tried to clear a group of drunk hooligans, said a Reuters eyewitness.

In separate clashes nearby smaller groups of drunken German and Polish fans set on each other, police said.

A Reuters TV cameraman suffered slight injuries after he was punched in the back of the head during the violence.

''No one was seriously injured though there were about 32 minor injuries. One policeman was bitten in the calf by a fan,'' a police spokesman said.

The highly-charged match, which ended with a last-gasp winning goal for the hosts, had drawn fears of hooligan violence for months, particularly after 100 German and Polish supporters brawled near the border last November.

''Expectations of trouble proved self-fulfilling and made things very difficult for police,'' Dortmund police chief Hans Schulze told reporters in the early hours on Thursday.

''We needed people on almost every corner today as the potential for aggression was so high....we had known German hooligans out in the crowd.'' Police had earlier detained about 70 Polish supporters known to authorities as ''problem fans'' some armed with metal batons and other dangerous objects.

At first the mood in Dortmund was largely friendly with noisy supporters drinking beer in the sunshine, but it turned darker as fans continued to drink heavily.

''What surprised us was the sheer number of fans who showed themselves ready to turn aggressive,'' said Schulze.

The relationship between Germany and Poland, especially their soccer fans, has been tense and marred by history as Poland suffered greatly under Nazi occupation in World War Two.

REUTERS

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