Crowds of cheering England fans have arrived in Cologne and are ramping up the spirit in the city’s centre ahead of the next big Euro 2024 match. England will face Slovenia at the RheinEnergieStadion at 8pm tomorrow (June 25).
As energy levels have been building, our reporter Zak Garner-Purkis has been among the sea of supporters who have also made the journey out to Germany to see their team play in the flesh. Zak said a line of riot police had arrived this evening, with British police mingling with people, to deter any pre-match beef that could kick-off.
He said: “The police seem to be acting as a viable deterrent at the moment rather than dealing with anything at the moment.
“Here’s another row of riot police controlling movement around the Heumarkt square. But, again no sign of any trouble – there is around 30-40 German riot police here and between five to six plain clothes British police officers.”
The atmosphere itself seems, so far, to be more jovial. One supporter took to climbing up a tree to look at the sheer number of people all congregating in one area – with fans standing almost shoulder-to-shoulder.
The move sparked a mass of smartphones to emerge from pockets and bags, as fans filmed the thrill-seeker’s move.
On the police’s movements, Zak said there seemed to be a focus on a particular pub where Milwall flags had been displayed – but absolutely no trouble has broken out so far.
British police attending a major sporting event, such as a major international football match abroad, is not uncommon. But Zak said today they seemed more present than they had in Frankfurt. Before, he said, they had watched the crowds from a distance – only intervening when needed.
But the stronger presence could be put down to the fact England fans were caught up in a bar brawl ahead of the 1-1 Serbia match just last week.
