As trouble erupted in the Belgian capital city of Brussels, much has been said about the 'hooligan element', but as a journalist in the city (who did not have an agenda to make sure that the England fans lived up to their 'media hype') it was interesting to see events at first hand.

After travelling from Bruges following France's victory over the Czech Republic, I walked into the centre of the picturesque city to have a look around, grab a couple of beers and watch the Denmark v Holland match.

From the coverage in the press on Saturday you would have thought that people were cowering in corners away from violence. That wasn't the case.

Now, I am not trying to underestimate the problem that football, and English football more than most, has to tackle, but as I walked through the central square - La Grande Place - you would have thought it was a night like any other.

People were sat around outside bars enjoying the summer weather, and there was a general jovial mood amongst the locals and fans from many countries.

But as I turned off the square and walked 50 yards down a side road, I was confronted by a first cordon of armed police with dogs, followed by a row of metal railings and then riot vans.

It was clear there had been some degree of trouble on the other side of the blockade - I could see one man being carried away on a stretcher - but the majority of the city was carrying on like nothing had happened.

When I returned to the square, however, the police's 'zero tolerance' policy was starting to get to the normal England fans. I, not wearing an England shirt, was able to freely walk in and out of the square.

But if you were English you were not now allowed in.

The police - ironically spelt 'polite' in the home language - had put up barricades at each entrance to the square to stop the English fans. If you were wearing an England shirt, you couldn't enter. If the police heard an English voice, you couldn't enter. If you looked English, you couldn't enter.

More and more fans were getting wound up by this tactic - and it is a policy which I can easily see causing problems.

In Brussels, some fans hit back with verbal abuse about the a policeman's family. It was so strong I can barely repeat a word of what was said. There was no need for it, but it was caused by the police's policy to tar all fans with the same brush.

I'm not defending the way he spoke. It was disappointing to see one of your fellow fans behaving in such a manner.

As the night wore on, it was apparent that tension was growing in the city centre. People were getting more and more upset at the victimisation that fans were being subjected to simply because they were English.

Only a few fans cause the problems at football matches. Unfortunately it now seems that everyone must suffer.

I thought I had seen the worst until I returned to the train station to go to the airport. I was wrong.

I asked a Belgian guard a question about my train and he answered me in perfect English. I obviously looked respectable.

Two minutes later a fan wearing an England shirt asked the same guard where he should go to catch his train. The guard just looked at him and said 'no'.

When the fan asked again the guard got on the train, closed the door and, as the fan tried to get help by pointing at the ticket through the window of the door, waved as the train pulled away with a smile on his face.

That was, quite simply, disgraceful.

There is no defence for the fans that do cause the trouble, but I do have to question the hype that the media has put on this tournament. Ever since the draw was made, and even more so after the incidents involving fans of Arsenal and Galatasaray, the media have been waiting for this story.

I am sure many news agencies and papers will have had follow up stories and archive features and follow-ups ready to roll after the trouble.

But, on the part of the police, there really has to be some humility. The tension and resentment that is being caused by their tactics seems to me to be a pressure cooker. I've seen it at first hand and it isn't pretty.

Let's hope there's no real trouble in Charleroi. And let's hope for some sensible journalism.