England fans BANNED from drinking strong lager at Three Lions' first Euros clash with Serbia (and set to be offered German 'shandy' instead) - as fears grow Serb hooligans will disrupt match on Sunday
England fans have been banned from drinking strong lager at the Three Lions' first Euros clash against Serbia and will be offered German shandy instead.
The drastic measure, bound to infuriate England fans who have travelled to Germany for the tournament, comes amid fears Serb hooligans are planning to disrupt the highly-anticipated match on Sunday.
Instead of being offered 4.8 per cent strength Bitburger Premium at the 62,000-seat Veltins Arena, England fans will have to make do with a heavily watered-down lager.
England's crucial opening game is the only group match where fans will be served a maximum of two pints at a time of 2.5 per cent beer - which is half lager and half citrus soda.
Gelsenkirchen police spokesman Stephan Knipp told The Sun: 'It is just the England game which will have the low-strength beer. The other games at the stadium will have 4.8 per cent.'
England fans have been banned from drinking strong lager at the Three Lions' first Euros clash against Serbia. (File image)
It comes amid fears Serb hooligans could clash with England fans at the crucial opening game
It is not yet clear which low-strength Bitburger fans will be given as the German beer brand offers a 2.5 per cent 'Radler' lemonade shandy and a 2.8 per cent Bitburger Light.
Another police source told the newspaper: 'The stadium beer will be the same per cent as a Radler made with sparkling lemonade, which you English call shandy. Authorities are trying to reduce risk.'
Pumped up England fans will also have to contend with a drinking ban in the Gelsenkirchen city centre before kick-off at 8pm UK time.
Three Lions supporters have been prohibited from drinking in the city's main square, Heinrich-Konig-Platz.
'The square will be a fan zone for other games in the city, but not for England, Mr Knipp added The Sun. 'Fans can however drink alcohol in the city's bars and in a fan zone for England fans at the racecourse.'
It comes amid fears Serbian hooligan gangs such as the 'Head Hunters' and 'Gravediggers' could target those at the Euro 2024 match between the countries on Sunday night.
Football fans in Serbia have a track record of serious violence - with hooligan groups linked to organised crime groups accused of kidnap, rape and even murder.
Pumped up England fans will also have to contend with a drinking ban in the city centre before kick-off at 8pm UK time. (File image)
German police have been working with authorities from London and Belgrade to try to avoid ugly scenes in the areas around the stadium and during the game itself. Pictured: Red Star Belgrade fans
And most England fans will be hoping they will not come face to face with the Balkan country's most notorious hooligan Ivan Bogdanov, a fearsome figure known as 'Ivan the Terrible' who has spent more than two years in Italian and Serbian jails.
There have even been claims of some Partizan Belgrade ultras using a 'bunker' at the club's ground to carry out torture and decapitations. The gang was allegedly led by a Partizan fanatic called Veljko 'The Trouble' Belivuk, with a trial still ongoing.
As for Red Star Belgrade ultras, known as the Delije or 'Strong Boys', they are said to specialise in gang warfare, political violence, racketeering and organised crime.
England will play Serbia in what German officers have deemed a 'high risk' tie this Sunday evening at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, the home of FC Schalke 04.
Up to 40,000 people from England are expected to travel to Germany for the match at 9pm local time (8pm BST), compared to up to 8,000 from Serbia - and local police chiefs believe 400 to 500 of these will be 'violence-seeking Serbian hooligans'.
German police have been working with authorities from London and Belgrade to try to avoid ugly scenes in the areas around the stadium and during the game itself.
England will play Serbia in what German officers have deemed a 'high risk' tie this Sunday evening at the Veltins Arena (pictured) in Gelsenkirchen, the home of FC Schalke 04
Peter Both, the chief of police in Gelsenkirchen, told The Guardian that officers in the country did not have 'concrete intelligence, concrete information' at this stage.
But they believe 'up to 400 or 500 violence-seeking Serbian hooligans will travel to Germany, but we don't know it exactly and so that's our problem at the moment'.
He added: 'I guess the biggest challenge for us will be to identify violent, disruptive groups at an early stage, to separate them from peaceful and law-abiding fans.'
Some Serbian fans name themselves 'ultras', with many of these belonging to far-right pro-Russian groups Delije or Strongmen supporters of Serbian league champions, Red Star Belgrade.
The last time England fans went abroad for the Euros was to France in 2016, where scores of supporters were put in hospital when organised Russian hooligans targeted them in Marseille.
