Winstone tackles World Cup thugs - 03/05/2006

Source : The Guardian

He will use the F-word more than 150 times and portray the world of football as being riddled with bungs and deceit. But yesterday the actor Ray Winstone, who is to star next week in Channel 4's unflattering fictional portrait of a corrupt Premiership manager, was named by the Football Association as the celebrity face of its campaign to improve the behaviour of England supporters at this summer's World Cup.
The 49-year-old West Ham supporter, who has starred in such gritty and violent film dramas as Scum, Nil by Mouth and Sexy Beast, plays the archetypal foul-mouthed, sheepskin-coated soccer manager in the TV drama All in the Game. In the run-up to the World Cup he will be the respectable, if slightly rough-edged, public face of England fans in the FA's Alltogethernow campaign, making video appeals to fans for a trouble-free tournament. Winstone said: "I am proud to be an England fan and enjoy nothing more than joining in with the crowd to get behind the team, but let's get this straight. Causing trouble at a football tournament is unacceptable. I'm as passionate about being an England fan as the next man, but the moment you get involved in violence you let down the team and the country."

Attempts by England supporters to shed their notorious hooligan image will be put under severe strain after the decision by tournament organisers to allow all-day drinking. The German authorities are rolling out the welcome mat for the 100,000 England supporters expected, while police are planning a restrained approach.
One of the biggest tests will come in Nuremberg, where England play Trinidad and Tobago. The city, substantially rebuilt after the war, is embracing the organising committee's slogan - "A time to make friends". With 40,000 England fans expected, the city authorities are adopting a trusting approach based on improved behaviour over the past decade. Nuremberg's old market squares, dotted with bars, will allow drinking round the clock. There are reminders all round the city of its role in the Third Reich; next to the 36,000-capacity match venue is the Frankenstadion, a derelict Nazi parade ground.

The FA, fans' groups and the German authorities all hope it is not a recipe for disaster. They fear England's presence could be exploited by local neo-Nazi groups, or lengthy drinking sessions could lead to provocative Nazi salutes.

But Heino Hassler, a fan-coordinator with the Nuremberg Fans Projekt, believes the dangers are overstated. The mood is shared by englandfans, the official England supporters' club. England supporters' reputation hit a low at Euro 2000 in Germany, when 450 hooligans were arrested. This time, about 3,500 troublemakers will be prevented from travelling to Germany.

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50 Welsh hooligans banned from Cup - 03/05/2006

Source : icNorthWales

FIFTY soccer hooligans from North Wales have been banned from travelling to Germany for the World Cup finals.

The yobs will have to surrender their passports 10 days before the opening match on June 9.

They will also have to report to police every day England play during the tournament.

Soccer and police chiefs are keen the World Cup, which is just weeks away, is trouble-free.

The hooligans, who have not been named, are subject to Football Banning Orders because of bad behaviour at soccer matches.

A Home Office spokeswoman said it was protocol not to name them.

A total of 3,286 Football Banning Orders have been imposed by courts across England and Wales.

They are a civil measure, designed to make it easier to stop hooligans attending games without proving criminal behaviour "be-yond reasonable doubt".

Behaviour likely to result in a ban includes fighting, stirring up racial hatred, using threatening or abusive words and even displaying abusive or insulting writing.

Offenders banned from international matches are also outlawed from any League ground in England. The orders normally last for two to five years.

The figures were released to MPs in a written answer by Home Office minister Paul Goggins.

He said: "Each of the individuals concerned will be required to report to a designated police station and surrender their passports 10 days prior to the opening match and on every England match day during the tournament."

Courts in South Wales have imposed 130 orders, those in Dyfed-Powys have banned three yobs, while Gwent courts have dished out 25 orders.

Home secretary Charles Clarke has said the orders will be rigorously enforced.
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Dozens on county's hooligan list - 03/05/2006

Source : BBC NEWS

More than 50 Lincolnshire football supporters have been banned from travelling to the World Cup.

The suspected hooligans will be forced to hand over their passports to police to stop them from travelling to Germany to cause trouble.

The bans affect 30 Lincoln City fans and 13 Boston United supporters along with supporters of several other teams.

Chief Inspector Kieran English said the football fans were among a total of 3,286 people banned across the UK.

The banned fans will have to surrender passports 10 days before the opening match and report to police on every England match day during the tournament.

"We have a proven track record for working with the football clubs to get banning orders to restrict movements of people who have committed violence and other offences," Ch Insp English said.