Euros 2024: Fans Face Criminal Charges After Huge England Serbia Game Brawl

As football fans gathered for the Euro 2024 match between England and Serbia in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, a violent scuffle erupted, leading to severe injuries and multiple arrests. According to local authorities, about 150 individuals were involved in a brawl before the game, instigated when English fans attempted to enter a bar filled with Serbian supporters.

Police Chief Peter Both explained the origins of the confrontation, as reported by The Guardian:

“The Serbian fan group was already in the restaurant and obviously ate there and then a larger group of English fans then tried to get into this restaurant as well. And that’s exactly what sparked the dispute.

“What we can hardly say now, of course, in retrospect, is did the Serbs refuse entry to the English or did the English provoke the Serbs. Of course, this can hardly be brightened up afterwards. The fact is that when they tried to enter the pub, there was an immediate physical altercation.”

The clash quickly escalated as furniture and bottles were used as projectiles, creating chaotic scenes that spread across social media. Authorities responded promptly, performing around 50 identity checks and detaining eight fans—seven Serbians and one English—who were subsequently banned from the stadium and might face further restrictions for the remainder of the tournament. Both added:

“We subsequently made several detentions. We carried out a total of around 50 identity checks. We took eight fans into custody before the game, who were then unable to watch the game.”

Putting a slightly positive spin on the situation, Both noted:

“If we had predicted in the opening press conference that there would be one detention [of an England fan], then we would all have gladly taken it.”

Chief Both went on to clarify the selective nature of the police response:

“Why did the police only take seven or eight people into custody when there were 150 people running around? The first issue is that you can only take someone into custody if you can make an individual accusation. So the ones where we can say either via video recordings or via personal evidence from deployed police officers, I can prove that you threw this chair, you threw this glass, you hit that one, have seen that, I can prove it, only those are then taken into custody accordingly.”

The aftermath of the brawl has prompted a closer collaboration between the police and UEFA, with Both noting:

“We have everyone’s personal details and are now in contact with the organiser, with the organiser, with Uefa, because we would already make a recommendation to Uefa. They can see if these people still have tickets for other games and we would recommend that these tickets are then blocked for the next games.”