Euro 2024: Seven Serbia fans arrested as Serbia and England fans clash in Germany ahead of Euros match

Videos on social media showed trouble between the two camps in the city of Gelsenkirchen, where the match between Serbia and England was being held. Footage showed chairs being thrown, as well as chairs and bottles with riot police called out.

A spokesman for Gelsenkirchen police force confirmed that seven arrests were made, and that all of those arrested were Serbian citizens. They said: “There was a confrontation between Serbian and English football fans in the city of Gelsenkirchen.

“The two fan groups were separated. Seven people were taken into custody. There was also a complaint of grievous bodily harm. The background to this is still unclear.”

A spokesman for the UK Football Policing Unit added: “We are aware of an issue in Gelsenkirchen ahead of the England v Serbia match. Our German colleagues have made a number of arrests of what we currently believe to be Serbian supporters. At this stage we do not believe that any UK nationals have been arrested but enquiries are ongoing.

“Our officers are at the location speaking to German colleagues. Our investigation team is now reviewing footage of the incident and, if any UK nationals have been involved, football banning orders will be sought.”

The match, in which England won 1-0 at the Veltins-Arena, saw 50,000 supporters in attendance. Former England striker Stan Collymore shared an image of a bloodied England fan on X (formerly Twitter) ahead of the game saying: “Police vans en masse in Gelsenkirchen centre now. Kicking off in tiny groups.”

There were also reports of England fans singing the chant ‘10 German bombers’, which German police had warned fans about before the tournament kicked off.

It comes after a man was shot near a fanzone hosting Dutch fans after wielding an “axe-like object” at police officers and holding a “Molotov cocktail”. He was shot in the leg after he defied instructions to drop the device and threatened officers.

A statement from Hamburg police read: “According to current findings, a man came out of a locality around 1230pm (CET) and threatened police forces with a pickaxe/axe-like object. He was asked by them to drop this item. He also threatened the police officers with a Molotov cocktail in his hand, which he did not drop despite being asked and continued to walk towards the officers.

“The police then used their service weapon and shot him in the leg. This prevented further attacks and no emergency services or other bystanders were injured. The police officers immediately provided first aid, which was continued a short time later by medical personnel. The man is currently receiving further care in a hospital.”

Hamburg Police added however that they could not yet say whether fans were being targeted by the man, adding: “A football connection cannot currently be determined, nor are there currently any insights into other motivations.”