Eye on the Hooligans

A French gendarme beaten up by German football hooligans remained critically ill on Monday but hospital sources here described his conditio...

A French gendarme beaten up by German football hooligans remained critically ill on Monday but hospital sources here described his condition as stable. The gendarme, aged 43, was clubbed and kicked at the end of the Germany-Yugoslavia match on Sunday afternoon in Lens. He was hospitalised here with serious head injuries and doctors said his condition was quot;dramatic.quot; The gendarme was attacked from behind and his alleged attacker was arrested on Sunday evening.

World Cup organisers and French President Jacques Chiracon condemned the vicious attack. FIFA spokesman Keith Cooper deplored the violence, saying the gendarme had been quot;barbarically attacked by someone whose motives defy all normal understanding.quot; President Chirac condemned the violence which he said had marred the tournament and which went totally against the ethics of sport.

Later, Ninety-six hooligans, most of them Germans, were arrested in Lens on Sunday. Six Germans were ordered to be deported on Monday. A seventh was alsoexpected to be expelled.

In Toulose, French police in riot gear faced down a crowd of unruly England fans in central Toulouse late on Sunday night in a confrontation that threatened to be a similar scene to last week8217;s violence in Marseille. But after a tense one-and-a-half hour stand-off, the obviously drunk supporters gradually dispersed under the persistent urging of a small group of British police who are assisting the French authorities.

Earlier on Sunday, four suspected English hooligans were arrested in Toulouse French police in charge of the city8217;s security for the England-Romania match. Three Britons, all aged in their late 30s, were grabbed and placed in handcuffs by a dozen officers as they sat peacefully in a group in an outdoor cafe in the centre of the city. They were later deported under the new guidelines adpoted by French authorities.

Britain8217;s sports Minister has said he felt humiliated by England8217;s football hooligans, but hoped ultimately the nation8217;s bid to host theWorld Cup in 2006 would depend on its team and the fans inside the grounds. In an interview with BBC television8217;s Breakfast with Frost, Banks said, quot;It8217;s so humiliating, I8217;ve had to go around apologising toso many people 8230; Saying please judge us by the real face of English football which isn8217;t that mindless minority,quot; he said.