German police have issued unconventional advice to England fans heading to Euro 2024 this summer and encouraged them to smoke cannabis instead of downing pints.
Around 40,000 Three Lions supporters are set to descend on Gelsenkirchen this weekend ahead of England’s opening group stage game against Serbia.
An unprecedented security operation has been launched in order to prevent potential hooliganism, while England fans have already been warned against signing offensive chants in an attempt to antagonise and intimidate locals.
The Veltins Arena is set to serve low alcohol beer in an attempt to keep potential trouble to a minimum but local police appear to have gone a step further.
A Gelsenkirchen Police spokesman reportedly told The Sun: ‘It’s no problem for fans to smoke cannabis on the street.
‘If we see a group of people drinking alcohol and looking a bit aggressive, and another group smoking cannabis, of course we’ll look at the group drinking alcohol.
‘Drinking alcohol can make someone more aggressive, and smoking cannabis puts people in a chill mood. We want to prevent violence and keep people safe.
‘Our focus will be on fans who are drinking and potentially getting violent — that’s why we in place safety precautions on alcohol.’
Earlier this year, Germany joined the list of countries who have legalised cannabis for personal use.
The German public is divided on the new law: according to a YouGov poll published on Friday, 47 percent are in favour of the plans and 42 percent are against.
Speaking about the threat to civilisation earlier in the week, meanwhile, Chief Inspector Christof Burghardt told Sky News England’s opening game would be ‘high-risk’.
‘I think it’s a very high-risk game because of the history, because of the hooligans both sides have,’ Burghardt said.
‘Serbia has many hooligans. The English guys, with alcohol, they are very aggressive. So it’s a great job to do this, to prepare, so that hopefully nothing will happen.’
He added: ‘The biggest challenge for us will be to identify violent, disruptive groups at an early stage, to separate them from peaceful and law-abiding fans.’
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