England, Germany fans clash in Stuttgart

STUTTGART, June 24 (Reuters) Riot police detained a group of around 100 rowdy England soccer fans in a square in the centre of Stuttgart today after they had clashed with German fans, throwing bottles and chairs and trading punches.

Tens of thousands of English and German fans had gathered in the area, many drinking throughout the day, to watch Germany's 2-0 second-round World Cup win over Sweden on big screen TVs. Trouble broke out shortly after the end of the game.

England fans were in the city for their country's second-round match against Ecuador tomorrow.

Some 150 fans on both sides threw bottles and chairs before riot police moved into the area to separate them.

After an uneasy standoff and a brief lull, the two sets of fans again threw glass bottles at each other, prompting the riot police to move the German fans out of the area.

They then moved in to arrest the English supporters.

''Most of them will be arrested, because it's like a theatre here, and if we don't arrest them there'll be trouble here all night,'' Stuttgart police spokesman Stefan Kielbach told reporters.

He said the trouble had been started by both sets of fans.

Some German supporters were also seen being dragged away by riot police while one German man left the area with blood on his face.

VIOLENT HISTORY The English have a long history of soccer-related violence but there has been little trouble in Germany so far, with only a small number of arrests for mostly drunken behaviour or people trying to get into a stadium without a ticket.

However 122 people were detained in Stuttgart on Friday night for drunken and aggressive behaviour and they are expected to be held until the game on Sunday has been played.

Under German law police can detain individuals for threatening behaviour or if they suspect they are likely to commit a crime and it does not constitute a full arrest.

Earlier, Germany had beaten Sweden in Munich to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

REUTERS VJ BST0252