Belgian police said yesterday they will be prepared for hooligan riots at the Euro 2000 football finals which start on June 10th and will use what they have named "Robocops".

Belgian officials consider the England-Germany fixture - which takes place in Charleroi, Belgium on June 17th - as a high-risk match, and are currently preparing tactics in order to outwit the groups of hooligans who are expected to show up.

The new uniforms, which weigh 14 kg and cost $500 each, consist of a helmet with built-in radio and headset enabling effective communication between officers, a gas mask, throat and neck protection, padded combat leg and footwear, as well as CS gas hand grenades.

The equipment has been specifically designed to protect the police from physical punches, charges of groups of hooligans, truncheon blows, and blows to the jaw.

A total of forty agents will wear the new gear. Police will have pocket laser spotlights to point out the hooligans to the "Robocops".

English and Turkish football chiefs will meet next week in Holland to discuss security arrangements for Euro 2000, Dutch Interior Minister Klaas de Vries said yesterday.

"We will try and take into account what happened in Copenhagen so that the same thing does not happen in our country during Euro 2000," said de Vries.

The minister also used the occasion to distribute Euro 2000 manuals to the 25 police forces in Holland which give precise rules of engagement to officers who will police the final.

Dutch police were present at Copenhagen last Wednesday for the UEFA semi-final to witness the incidents that left five people seriously injured.

On June 11th Turkey meet Italy at Arnhem while England play Portugal in nearby Eindhoven 24 hours later.