Resort living in fear of fans

SOCCER Euro 2004: Stripped to the waist and drinking pints of lager from plastic glasses, England soccer fans gathered in their hundreds on the Algarve coast of Portugal yesterday for the crucial England- Switzerland match.

At Lineker's Bar and every neon-lit bar along a three-quarter of a mile promenade known as the Strip in Montechoro, the scene was the same. Snatches of Rule Britannia mingled with a chorus of Three Lions and chants of "Eng-er-land" in the countdown to the game which England won 3-0.

Two miles away, in a courtroom in Albufeira, the hangover from other nights like this had paraded in front of the judge to face accusations of hooliganism. As the referee's whistle blew to a mass rendition of the UK national anthem on the Strip, the 33 fans arrested on Wednesday morning for alleged rioting were being bundled into police vans outside the court.

They were driven to a holding centre, from where they will be deported today. The supporters, who were seized in a night of violence late on Tuesday and early on Wednesday, were asked by the magistrate whether they would volunteer to deportation. They all agreed. Charges against them were adjourned.

However, a British fireman Garry Mann, who was jailed for two years for his part in that violence, is believed to be still detained in Portugal.

If the England fans watching the Switzerland game on the Strip were concerned at the antics of their fellow fans, they did not show it. "There are no football hooligans in Portugal," said one supporter, who refused to be named. "The police stopped 3,000 fans from coming here, didn't you know? We are just here to have a good time."

For locals and other British holiday-makers, the particular form of entertainment adopted by drunken supporters over two nights this week has created an atmosphere of tension and fear. By day families enjoy ice creams, Portuguese painters ply their trade and gift shops offer a selection of pottery. But when the sun goes down the Strip becomes a no-go area for locals and tourists, driven out they say by the violence, racial taunts and drunkenness of England football fans.

After two days in which hundreds of fans have rampaged the length of the Strip, from Lineker's at the top end to La Bamba at the bottom, Captain Manuel Jorge, of Albufeira police, said he was determined to keep the peace. As supporters gathered in the bars once more last night, mounted police, armed officers and dog handlers were out in large numbers.

Such is the atmosphere of tension and fear that Thomson Holidays has written to all its British holiday-makers in the area warning them not to stay out on the Strip beyond midnight. In an attempt to prevent more violence, bars and restaurants along the promenade are closing two hours early, at 2 a.m.

By yesterday 46 England supporters had been through Albufeira's courtroom, charged with taking part in riots.

"It is a bit like being under siege," said Ivone Rodrigues, the owner of a gift shop on the Strip. "This place used to be full of families eating with their children at night, it had a good reputation for holiday-makers. Now after 9 p.m. they disappear and these men come out. We close early because we have had our windows broken twice and it is just not worth it."

Portuguese women, in particular, said they felt afraid to go out among the England fans.

"There is a racial element to it," said Aldina Rodrigues, who runs the La Bamba ice-cream parlour in the daytime. "It doesn't make me feel good about the English when I am too scared to take my children out in the evening."

Holiday-maker Jane Newton said: "We just don't go out at night. We had to pay extra to move from our hotel room further back because it has been so tense and that's something I will be taking up with the travel agent when I get home."

Some of the friends and family of the English fans brought before the court complained of heavy-handed police tactics, which had caught up innocent people.

Captain Jorge said he believed the police tactics would prevent a repetition of the events of Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

"The first two nights there was trouble, but we have put more officers out now and people should not be afraid." He said some of the English fans had been heard using racist taunts.

Despite his assurances by mid-afternoon yesterday the Strip was emptying of British families. Jose Malheiro, a pizza restaurant owner, said the resort's reputation had been ruined by the activities of the supporters.

"It's a result of too much booze. They go to the bars, drink all day, then someone says something which sparks it all off. "The atmosphere is very tense and I for one decided to close early and go home."