There were fights in the city center of Gelsenkirchen on Sunday before the European Championship match between England and Serbia. There were clashes between two large groups of people and a police operation was underway, a spokesman for the Gelsenkirchen police told the SZ. Serbian and English fans were involved and were separated. Seven Serbian fans were arrested. In addition, a criminal complaint was filed against a Serb for grievous bodily harm. No English fans were arrested.
Apart from the incident, things remained largely quiet in the city before the European Championship match. “There was nothing else unusual or major. We are not aware of any other clashes between fan camps,” said a police spokesman. UEFA had previously classified the match as a “high-risk game.” This is one of the reasons why the beer in the stadium has a lower alcohol content than usual.
Videos show chairs flying through the air in Arminstrasse and many broken glass bottles. The British newspaper Guardian reported that an English fan and a German policeman were wounded in the head, photos show a supporter, who is said to be from Birmingham, with a bleeding wound on his temple. It was initially unclear which group was responsible for the outbreak of violence. Eyewitness reports quoted in various media partly contradict each other.