English police are to mount a security operation in Thailand following fears that known or suspected football hooligans will try to travel from there to Japan for the World Cup.
Officials from the UK national criminal intelligence service (NCIS), have identified a number of fans travelling to Thailand. Banning orders preventing them from leaving England cannot be issued because they are not specifically travelling to watch football.
The NCIS has been monitoring the activities of two men who now run a bar in Thailand and are reported to be organising trips to Japan. The two were leaders of Chelsea's Headhunters gang which orchestrated football violence during the 1980s but have been based in Thailand for the past five years.
Bryan Drew, head of NCIS warned that potential troublemakers planning to go to Japan from Thailand would be subject to rigorous security checks.
"There are a number of bars owned by expats in Thailand and we know some English supporters who fall into the risk category intend to go there," Mr Drew said. "We have given that information to the Japanese, Korean and Thai police."
The NCIS revealed yesterday that 1,007 English football hooligans have been served with banning orders. The figure represents a 10-fold increase from those were barred from travelling during Euro 2000 in Holland and Belgium.
The 1,007 have been required to surrender their passports and face six months in jail if they disobey the banning orders. Of those banned, 112 are Cardiff City supporters, 98 from Stoke City, 66 from Leeds United and 23 from Millwall.
The names and profiles of another 200 potential troublemakers have been passed to Japanese police officers who have been in England for the past week discussing security arrangements. The Japanese authorities have already said that, of the 200 on the list, 75 per cent will be turned away if they attempt to enter the country.
Meanwhile, Hampden's Park's successful staging of the European Cup final has boosted the joint Scotland and Ireland bid to host the 2008 European Championship.
"The arrangements for the final were perfect," UEFA's president Lennart Johansson said yesterday. "We have to praise the organisers and the Scottish FA - everything was extremely well organised."
His chief executive, Gerhard Aigner, said: "We had excellent co-operation from the Scottish football authorities and the city of Glasgow. It could not have been better. It is confirmation of what we can expect if we should decide to come in 2008 to Scotland and Ireland."
UEFA have also said England could not restrict entry to just Celtic and Rangers if it ever allowed the Old Firm clubs to join. Johansson made it clear such access would have to be granted to every Scottish club.
And French captain Marcel Desailly said yesterday he was itching to begin the defence of the World Cup. Desailly played down the importance of France's match against Belgium today - their last before jetting to the Far East - and said he had fixed his sights on the World Cup curtain-raiser against Senegal.
"Club loyalties have been put aside and now it's all go for the French team," Desailly said at France's training base south of Paris. "I can't wait to get back into competition."
Zinedine Zidane misses today's match. His exertions for Real Madrid in the European Cup final and the fact that his wife is expecting the couple's third child have seen the player excused from the encounter at the Stade de France.
