Trouble
has erupted hours before the start of the Euro 2012 football
tournament, with local thugs attacking English-speaking fans and hurling
racist abuse at star players.
About 50 hooligans punched and kicked foreign football fans speaking English and Russian as they drank in a pub in the central Polish city of Lodz.
The fighting broke out after Dutch players complained they were subjected to monkey chants while training in another Polish city, where the England team is based.
Fears are growing that the tournament, which starts today, could be ruined by neo-Nazi rioters in host countries Poland and Ukraine.
The captain of the Holland
squad, Mark van Bommel, claimed that thugs hurled vile insults at his
black team-mates as they trained in Krakow.
Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand, who was omitted from the England squad, responded to van Bommel's claims on Twitter, writing: 'Tell me I didn’t see this ... the Dutch team getting abuse already? Hope this isn’t a sign of things to come'.
And Britain's sports minister Hugh Robertson called on authorities at the tournament to 'stamp down' on any racist abuse.
'Racism of any form is unacceptable on the football pitch or elsewhere,' he told the Evening Standard.
'If it occurs I would expect the authorities to stamp down on it in the strongest possible terms.'
Mr Robertson would not comment on the Dutch incident, which comes after pictures emerged of machetes and other knives confiscated from Polish fans by police.
The families of two black England players, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, have decided not to travel to the competition because they feared abuse from violent and racist fans.
Witnesses to the violence said masked men pulled up in cars next to a pub and attacked anyone in sight, throwing punches and kicks.
'When they started to hit out, we fled inside,' one victim said. 'We barricaded the entrance.
'Some of us remained outside, and they got the brunt of the attack.'
Two men were injured in the attack, which happened last night.
'They forced two younger men to the ground, with multiple attackers starting to punch and kick them,' a Polish witness said.
'It was a horrible sight. I fumbled for my phone and called the police.
'They were lying motionless on the pavement. I thought they were dead.
About 50 hooligans punched and kicked foreign football fans speaking English and Russian as they drank in a pub in the central Polish city of Lodz.
The fighting broke out after Dutch players complained they were subjected to monkey chants while training in another Polish city, where the England team is based.
Fears are growing that the tournament, which starts today, could be ruined by neo-Nazi rioters in host countries Poland and Ukraine.
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Threatening: Supporters of Karpaty Lviv hold a
German Nazi flag during a football match in Ukraine. Fears are growing
that the tournament, which starts today, could be ruined by neo-Nazi
rioters
Riots: Ukrainian police, pictured clashing with
fans of Dynamo Kiev at a domestic cup final, are braced for trouble
during Euro 2012
Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand, who was omitted from the England squad, responded to van Bommel's claims on Twitter, writing: 'Tell me I didn’t see this ... the Dutch team getting abuse already? Hope this isn’t a sign of things to come'.
And Britain's sports minister Hugh Robertson called on authorities at the tournament to 'stamp down' on any racist abuse.
'Racism of any form is unacceptable on the football pitch or elsewhere,' he told the Evening Standard.
Shocked: Rio Ferdinand wrote on Twitter that he hoped the abuse of Dutch players was not 'a sign of things to come'
Mr Robertson would not comment on the Dutch incident, which comes after pictures emerged of machetes and other knives confiscated from Polish fans by police.
The families of two black England players, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, have decided not to travel to the competition because they feared abuse from violent and racist fans.
Witnesses to the violence said masked men pulled up in cars next to a pub and attacked anyone in sight, throwing punches and kicks.
Lethal: Weapons confiscated from Polish football hooligans by police
The attackers were described as young men wearing club colours of local team LKS Lodz.'When they started to hit out, we fled inside,' one victim said. 'We barricaded the entrance.
'Some of us remained outside, and they got the brunt of the attack.'
Two men were injured in the attack, which happened last night.
'They forced two younger men to the ground, with multiple attackers starting to punch and kick them,' a Polish witness said.
'It was a horrible sight. I fumbled for my phone and called the police.
'They were lying motionless on the pavement. I thought they were dead.
Racism fears: