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Soccer - England, US, Iran pose security risks in World Cup 2006
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-03-18 15:43

At the Berlin Interior Ministry, a special World Cup security unit has been gathering information for months from dozens of countries, much of it relating to the estimated 1.5 million foreign fans expected to travel to Germany.

Some 280 security experts from 40 countries will attend a last big planning session in Berlin at the end of this month.

In Nuremberg, Mayor Ulrich Maly insists he has no major worries about security. "We welcome every fan, wherever he comes from. We're not afraid of British, Mexican or Croatian passion."

Police director Ernstberger says diplomatically that he hopes the England fans will "pleasantly surprise us", but makes clear his men will not put up with any violence.

"If there are small disturbances like noisy celebrations, we think something like that should be tolerated at a World Cup," he told Reuters in an interview.

"But if it comes to physical confrontation, to violence against other people or destruction of private or public property, we will set the intervention threshold very low and take rigorous measures from the outset."

Almost 1,000 English hooligans were arrested during violent scenes at the Euro 2000 in Belgium and the 1998 World Cup in France was also marred by rioting by English fans.

DANGERS OUTSIDE THE STADIUM

The security challenges go beyond policing the matches, because there will be many more fans outside the stadiums.

Officials expect, for example, up to 40,000 England fans to come to Nuremberg, only a quarter of them with tickets.

Those without will be able to watch the games on a giant screen in a public square near the stadium, right next to the unfinished horseshoe-shaped Nuremberg Congress Hall, one of the biggest surviving Nazi architectural relics.

Activities from beach volleyball to sumo wrestling will be on offer to keep fans out of mischief between matches.