Belgians get two mortuaries ready for fans

It may seem from afar that the media are focusing a little too keenly on the prospect of crowd violence at Euro 2000. But the concern has been legitimised somewhat by the news that the authorities in Charleroi, venue of two England games including the potentially explosive fixture against Germany there tomorrow week, have set aside not one but two mortuaries. If the worst comes then one will be used for English fans one for Germans.

It is, of course, only a precautionary measure, and despite the fear voiced by British MEPs and FIFA president Sepp Blatter among others, Charleroi's Stade Communal has been given the green light by British police well-versed in crowd safety and control.

But the Belgian police, knowing they will have to deal with the reality on Saturday week, are becoming increasingly vocal in the run-up to the tournament. Jean-Pierre Levaux, Charleroi's chief of police, revealed that his force had taken the decision about the mortuaries because "it is a terrible prospect, but we must be ready for the very worst scenario.

"The mortuaries will be ready just in case, with the English and German fans taken to separate sites. We don't want to risk grieving friends and relatives from rival countries meeting at the mortuaries and risk further bloodshed.

"Of course these are extreme measures, but we will not be caught out. Our security is very tight and designed to keep fans apart and under control. But we will be ready and we feel confident that all of this planning and hard work will limit any violence."

Part of that hard preparation, and rather less sensational than the mortuary plan, involves Charleroi being colour-coded for the days of games. Five thousand police will shepherd Germans into designated yellow areas while England's expected 10,000 fans will be contained in blue zones. The significant Turkish population in Charleroi will be in the yellow zone to avoid a repeat of the ugly scenes before and after Arsenal and Galatasaray's UEFA Cup final in Copenhagen last month.

On a low-key day, as the tournament begins to wind itself up, the issue of policing continued to dominate. The Charleroi authorities' fears were matched by their Dutch counterparts.

Theo Brekelmans, assistant chief constable of the Dutch police, also spoke of the threat of hooliganism. "There will definitely be violence," said Brekelmans. "I would be a fool to say the tournament will take place without incidents."