Eight England football fans have been arrested in Munich ahead of the Three Lions’ Nations League match with Germany this evening.
Sky Sports News witnessed a number of arrests in the city on Monday night, along with repeated anti-German chants, and songs related to the Second World War.
Three people were arrested for making Nazi salutes while police said another caused an estimated 2,000 euros (£1,700) worth of damage after he let off a flare inside his hotel room.
Four others were arrested for incidents, including insulting police officers and urinating in the street.
British police described the disorder as primarily alcohol-fuelled, anti-social behaviour rather than any widespread violence.
German riot police moved large groups of England supporters out of Munich city centre and towards the train station at around midnight.
Police had been called to one “brawl” on Monday, reported to have involved 30-50 England fans, but said it had dispersed by the time armed officers arrived on the scene.
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There are fears of further clashes later today after some England fans bought tickets in the German-supporting section of the Allianz Arena – the venue for the game.
The arrests come after England manager Gareth Southgate asked fans to behave themselves before the fixture – admitting any pre-match issues always have a negative impact on his camp.
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Police have confiscated 880 passports of England fans ahead of the fixture, which comes hot on the heels of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat in Hungary.
Meanwhile, Robert Mortby, 34, from Southwark, has pleaded not guilty to attempting to smuggle a knife on board a plane bound for Munich.
He appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court today, where he was refused bail, remanded in custody and ordered to appear at Isleworth Crown Court on 5 July.
Mortby was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Monday after a security search found a knife in his hand luggage.
His lawyer claimed in court that he was unaware of the knife as he did not pack his own bag.
England have been given an allocation of 3,466 tickets at the Allianz Arena but it is expected some supporters will travel without tickets.
Not since September 2019 has a full England allocation travelled to an away game and there are 1,122 banning orders in place.
Asked if it was important for England fans to behave on a big occasion in Germany, Southgate replied: “Yes, it is.
“I think we know, because of the landscape at the moment that the spotlight is going to be on, so we all want to be coming away talking about a brilliant night and be talking about good football and a stunning atmosphere.
“We don’t have any control over that. We can only ask that’s what our supporters deliver.”
A Munich police spokesman said officers would only be able to prevent England fans going in the “home” end if there was an expectation they may cause trouble.
He said 700 officers had been deployed to deal with the influx of England fans to the city since Saturday, considerably more than would be working for a Bayern Munich football match.
