England facing controversial beer ban for Euro 2024 opener in Germany

England fans have been warned they may be hit with a beer ban for their Euro 2024 opener next summer.

Peter Both, the security operations director for England’s first match of the tournament against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen, claimed he is determined to stop boozing inside the stadium and in public areas of the city.

The Three Lions will begin the tournament at Schalke's 62,000-capacity Veltins Arena and should they progress as group winners they could return to the ground in the knock-out stages.

Both would be in charge of the pair of fixtures and tasked with ensuring crowd safety. He claimed alcohol sales are currently among the things being considered to ensure said safety.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Both said: “We're discussing the possibility of banning alcohol in the stadium and I make no secret of it.

“Through the ­spectacles of someone responsible for security and in charge of police deployment on that day, I would find it good.

“We are also currently checking at the moment to what extent we can apply banning alcohol in public places.

“In principle, you're free to drink alcohol on the street in Germany, but in big areas where fans gather in overfilled spaces we want to forbid it.”

Fans in Germany are normally permitted to consume alcohol in their seats at matches, however, alcohol bans are not unprecedented for certain Bundesliga matches that are viewed as high-risk.

Both said he is expecting between 50,000 and 80,000 England supporters to be in Gelsenkirchen for their opening game, many of whom will not hold match tickets.

He insisted the authorities will attempt to adopt a peaceful approach to the England faithful.

“It's important all police in Germany adopt a mindset of seeing the fans as peaceful rather than a threat, but we will react if something happens,” Both explained.

“You can't exclude the fact that some will be coming with the intention of causing riots. My message to England fans is we will be prepared.

“If anyone does try to cause trouble we will move quickly and they will be sent home.”

Topics: Football, England, Germany, Euro 2024

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.