Tight security for Croatia qualifier with England

ZAGREB, Oct 10 (Reuters) Croatia and England will play their Euro 2008 Group E qualifier tomorrow amid tight security measures designed to prevent any crowd trouble, Zagreb media reported today.

Police have been under orders since this morning to detain any troublemakers, while traffic in the city centre will grind to a halt several hours before kick-off at 7pm 2230 hrs IST.

England fans will be separated from home supporters well before they reach the stadium, while an extra 100 security stewards and 625 guards have been assigned to the game.

It will not be a full house at the 40,000-seater Maksimir stadium, as 10 percent of the tickets have been held back to create a buffer zone between the rival fans.

Fans will be thoroughly searched before entering, to prevent Croatia supporters bringing in the kind of flares and fireworks that were set off during Saturday's 7-0 win over Andorra.

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic said he expected no crowd trouble.

''English fans used to be the most notorious hooligans but times have changed and most of their supporters are now decent family folk who come to enjoy the football,'' he said.

''I am also sure that our fans will do nothing to the detriment of our team and the chances to win this match. I believe it will be a spectacular event.'' UEFA spokesman William Gaillard has warned that Europe's ruling body could kick Croatia out of the competition if the home fans engaged in any more racist behaviour. In August, they stood in a swastika formation during a friendly with Italy.

''We can impose heavier sanctions if it happens again and that could ultimately be exclusion from the competition,'' he said.

''There are new rules which can lead to exclusion from a competition and docking points in extreme cases. We will monitor the events closely.

''Ourselves and FIFA have imposed sanctions and the sanctions will be heavier in the future.'' FIFA charged Croatia with bringing the game into disrepute after the swastika incident in Livorno.

Croatia were also fined during Euro 2004 over racist banners during their match with France.

REUTERS PDS PM1928