Fearsome hooligan gangs from Serbia might goal England followers at Euros

With the mascot being a huge teddy bear, Uefa are clearly keen to promote a family friendly image to football fans heading to Euro 2024 in Germany this week.

But England supporters are unlikely to be greeted with such fondness by fearsome Serbian hooligan gangs such as the ‘Head Hunters’ and ‘Gravediggers’, whom police fear could target those backing the Three Lions at their first Euro 2024 match.

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.

And most England fans will be hoping they will not come face to face with the 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 were even claims that some Partizan Belgrade ultras used a special ‘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.

And Red Star Belgrade ultras, known as the Delije or ‘strong boys’, 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.

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.

In one particularly violent incident in 2014, a match between Serbia and Albania had to be abandoned after fans stormed the pitch and began attacking players.

In a Euro 2012 qualifying match against Italy in Genoa in 2010, Bogdanov rallied supporters to attack rival fans and police and tear down barriers separating them.

Fireworks and flares were thrown on to the pitch during the warm up, and the match ultimately had to be abandoned just minutes into the game.

And in 2009, 14 Serbian football hooligans were jailed for the murder of French fan Brice Taton, who was beaten to death in Belgrade.

More than 1,600 fans from England with football banning orders have been made to surrender their passports until the end of the tournament to ensure they do not travel to Germany.

Around 1,000 police officers will be on duty this weekend as they try to keep the peace between rival fan camps.

Some British officers will also travel to the city to be on the lookout for known English hooligans and those with banning orders.

One expert in Serbian fan culture, who asked not to be identified, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘It’s possible that some groups of hooligans might attend. We also have to take into consideration that there is a big Serbian diaspora living in Germany.

‘What we already know is Serbia definitely will have a huge support. Uefa dedicated 10,000 tickets and there has been 30,000 applications for each match.

‘The question remains, if these kinds of Serbs living abroad, like Germany, Switzerland, behave better or not. Sometimes, it happens that this inner patriotism, inner nationalism happens more with these Serbs living abroad. So, they will want to show, ‘We’re Serbs’.’

The German authorities have announced detailed searches for weapons and fireworks and promise a special command centre to co-ordinate riot police and ‘tactical response’ units.

But they will reportedly not intervene if England fans sing ‘Ten German Bombers’.

Mr Both said: ‘The chanting of Ten German Bombers is not criminal. It’s not forbidden in Germany. It’s stupid. It’s a stupid song.

‘The English national coach said about that and he’s absolutely right. It’s ridiculous. It’s a stupid song, but it’s not forbidden.’

It comes as voters across the European Union will still be digesting the results of elections to the European Parliament – the 27-member bloc’s legislature – as the tournament gets underway.

Early results have shown a surge in nationalist and far-right sentiment, which has often manifested itself in Europe’s football stadiums, particularly among hardcore ultras.

And the threat of hooliganism looms over the championship – while the threat of terrorism and political violence is also a major security concern, following a series of attacks on politicians in Germany.

German authorities are stepping up border controls during the tournament and more than 20,000 police officers will be on duty.

Meanwhile, Georgia is going to its first major football championship as a political crisis deepens at home.

The country has seen weeks of protests against a controversial law that opponents say would crack down on media freedom and hinder efforts to join the EU.