EXCLUSIVE: Security sources who witnessed the street violence before last week's UEFA Cup final in Copenhagen have revealed that German and English fans teamed up to attack Turkish supporters in the Danish capital.
'German hooligans were fighting on the same side as the English against the Turks,' said the source. 'The Germans were actually supporting the English.'
Chief Superintendent Eddie Curtis, England's Operational Liaison Officer for Euro 2000, admitted: 'This is disturbing.
We haven't had them joining forces before - only talking before they fight each other.'
England's meeting with Germany in the Belgian town of Charleroi on June 17 has previously been regarded as the main potential flashpoint for the European Championship. But Turkey are also taking part in Euro 2000, raising a new worry.
Last week's clashes between Arsenal and Galatasaray fans followed on from the murder of two Leeds followers in Istanbul and raised fears of a blood feud continuing for years between English and Turkish hooligans.
Add to that the readiness of German right-wing groups to target Turkish immigrants and the development presents Curtis and other Euro 2000 security chiefs with a sinister scenario.
'There has always been the potential for this to happen and it would fit ideally the mentality of an England hooligan to join a German hooligan to fight a Turk,' said Curtis.
But despite the existence of a Turkish quarter in Charleroi, which will be heavily protected by Belgian police, Curtis is adamant the England-Germany match should be played there and not changed to a major city as some politicians have suggested.
'My professional opinion is that the venue for England v Germany should not be switched from Charleroi to Brussels at this late stage,' he said. 'The preparations have already been made in Charleroi, which offers small areas where any troublemakers can be contained.
'If there are problems in Brussels the night before, we may be able to nail some of the most dangerous people there and prevent them from getting to Charleroi at all.'
Curtis is currently awaiting a written assurance from the Dutch and Belgian authorities that known British troublemakers will be turned back at their borders if they arrive for Euro 2000 next month. Whether or not such measures will eliminate the potential for violence altogether is another matter.
Curtis, a 50-year-old veteran of policing the 1998 World Cup finals and the Marseille riots of that tournament, smiled when he heard what Home Office Minister Lord Bassam of Brighton said of the threat surrounding Euro 2000.
'I do not think we should see violence as inevitable,' claimed the Labour peer. 'But we should not be complacent.'
Curtis responded carefully. 'On all the evidence of every single England game abroad in the past, we would be naive in the extreme if we didn't think there was going to be some form of incident,' he suggested.
'Success at Euro 2000 for me would be trouble-free stadia. Then, if we can confine trouble in the towns to sporadic incidents between medium sized groups, where there was early intervention and these incidents were resolved within half-an-hour or so, that would be a success.
'You have to measure success against the potential for trouble.'
Curtis has presented a seven-point guide to the Dutch and Belgian police forces on 'what works in neutralising a hooligan threat'.
According to Curtis, this should involve: removing anonymity by meeting and continually monitoring hooligans; never allowing ticketless fans near stadiums; separating hooligans from law-abiding fans; rapid intervention at any incident; making as many arrests as possible; holding offenders in custody until they appear before court; seeking immediate custodial sentences.
Curtis, a member of the Nottinghamshire force, is too diplomatic to say so, but it is clear from his list that the Danish authorities, confronted with last week's UEFA Cup violence, singularly failed to implement the last five of those points.
England's liaison officer expects a better performance from the Dutch and Belgian police at Euro 2000 and he has paved the way for co-operation between the respective forces.
He says that British offenders who arrive home unconvicted will be extradited back to Belgium and Holland to stand trial if they can be identified at a later date on security surveillance tapes.
Ideally, Curtis wants to see uniform anti-hooligan legislation introduced throughout Europe along German lines. And he suggests: 'If anyone has been banned by their club, they should have their passports stamped and be unable to leave the country for football abroad.'
We'll be ready for trouble
The man in charge of policing the Belgian town of Charleroi when England face Germany in Euro 2000 on June 17 has admitted it will be impossible to keep rival fans apart, writes Derek Hunter.
But Charleroi police boss Michel Rompen insisted security arrangements would be sufficient to avoid the violence inflicted on Copenhagen last week.
'There will be police and gendarmes all over the city on the day of the England-Germany match and they will come under integrated command,' he said.
'They won't be aggressive, but they certainly won't be discreet either. It won't be possible to ignore them.
'All leave has been cancelled and more than 2,000 officers will be on duty. If we learn that a hard core of English fans is on its way, or that thousands of Germans are arriving without tickets, then we can call on extra manpower.
'It won't be possible to keep rival fans apart in the town, but police will be patrolling in groups of eight.'
