England fans who cause trouble before country’s clash with Serbia face being thrown into a ‘drunk tank’ cell that can hold 50 people
- Police in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, are preparing to deploy two temporary cells
- The ‘sobering cells’ will be used for England or Serbia fans who cause trouble
- An additional 150 riot police will also be stationed around the Veltins-Arena stadium
England fans who cause trouble before Sunday’s match will be thrown into a ‘drunken tank’ cell that can hold 50 yobs.
Police in Gelsenkirchen, where the match starts at 8 p.m., showed two temporary metal cells – one for England fans and one for Serbs – to The Mail on Sunday.
The ausnuchterungszelle – which translates as ‘sobering cells’ – have been installed as part of a security operation for the match, which German police have classified as ‘high risk’ due to the past behavior of Serbian and English criminals.
“If someone has become extremely aggressive or has attracted attention, we will use these facilities,” said police spokesman Stephan Knipp.
England fans who cause trouble before Sunday’s match are thrown into a ‘drunken tank’ cell that can hold 50 young people by police in Gelsenkirchen, Germany
The specialist England Football Policing Unit, a team of police officers and police staff dedicated to supporting other police forces in reducing incidents involving British supporters, arrives at Dusseldorf Airport ahead of England’s match against Serbia.
“We would temporarily house them until everything is sorted out.
“We have these facilities for about 100 people, but if this capacity is exceeded and exhausted, in the worst case we would transfer other people who have been detained to nearby Recklinghausen.”
Officers have trained specifically for Sunday’s match, with 150 extra riot police stationed around the Veltins-Arena stadium, home of FC Schalke.
German police officers prepare for England’s match against Serbia as fans gather in Essen and Gelsenkirchen
The specialist England Football Policing Unit, a team of police officers and police staff dedicated to supporting other police forces in reducing incidents involving British supporters, also flew to Düsseldorf Airport ahead of England’s match against Serbia.
In a new attempt to prevent problems, fans are being served half-strength beer.
