Details

Slug Soccer Euro 2016 Alcohol Ban
Dateline London, UK - 24th May, 2016
Story Number 5048560
Source SNTV
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Filed 24-May-2016 20:25 UTC
URL http://www.apvideohub.com/details/5048560/Soccer Euro 2016 Alcohol Ban/
Story

French authorities plan to impose 24-hour alcohol bans in the centre of Lens when the city stages Euro 2016 matches, according to Assistant chief constable Mark Roberts, the officer who leads football policing in Britain (24th May).

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

French authorities plan to impose 24-hour alcohol bans in the centre of Lens when the city hosts European football championships and ticketless fans are being urged to stay away from the small northern city, British police said on Tuesday.

Lens will stage four games next month, including the British derby between England and Wales in Group B.

Northern Ireland has also qualified for the tournament so there will be a British police presence across France to assist their French counterparts in Lens and other Euro 2016 host cities.

The alcohol ban will run for 24 hours in Lens from 6 a.m. on June 16 for England-Wales.

Alcohol will be sold in the stadium but not in bars and stores in the centre.

Assistant chief constable Mark Roberts, who leads football policing in Britain, said other cities across France could restrict the sale of alcohol.

But there are fears about Lens being overwhelmed by ticketless fans because the city has a population of 32,000 while the Stade Bollaert-Delelis has a capacity of 35,000.

Roberts asked fans without a ticket not to travel.

Another potential flashpoint is the England's game against Russia in Marseille following fan disorder there during the 1998 World Cup.

But Roberts stressed that "undoubtedly there will be a massive police cooperation around that particular fixture."

Around 250,000 tickets have been sold for the tournament to Britons but police expect between 300,000 and 500,000 to travel to France.

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1. 00:00 SOUNDBITE (English) Assistant chief constable Mark Roberts, leads football policing in Britain:

"I think it will be decided on each game on its merit. My understanding is that Lens will do that for each of the games just because being cognisant of the environment in Lens. It's a small stadium. It's a small fan zone. There isn't a great deal else to do beyond in Lens. I think the concern of the French is they wouldn't want tens of thousands of ticketless fans arriving in a venue that doesn't have the capacity to deal with them. So the message from them is if you don't have a ticket, don't travel."

2. 00:36 SOUNDBITE (English) Assistant chief constable Mark Roberts, leads football policing in Britain:

"Well, I think we're all aware of what happened in Marseille previously when they played there. That is a considerable period of time ago and behaviour of England fans has improved remarkably since that time. I draw the parallel with the game last year in Dublin - you recall that prior to that, when England played the game was abandoned after 18 minutes and there were concerns about that game. There was a police in place, the guard in Dublin, an outstanding police response to that and that passed off with no issues at all. So I think we need to be careful not to assume because there's been issues previously, we'll have issues again. Notwithstanding, we need to be aware of potential risks. We will work with the French to make sure that we can assist them to properly manage the England fans. The Russians will be doing the same and undoubtedly there will be a massive police cooperation around that particular fixture."

SOURCE: SNTV

DURATION: 01:26