An idyllic springtime morning in the sleepy village of Stutzerbach was disturbed on Tuesday with hundreds of German police taking on “soccer hooligans” in preparation for UEFA Euro 2024.
Birds were chirping and golden sunshine was starting to warm a new day when a train of trouble arrived to shatter the peaceful scene at the village station.
About 200 trainee police officers were on board to play the role of violent soccer fans. They were met by local state police, who quickly called hundreds of federal police to assist as the situation was simulated toward getting out of hand.
Photo: AP
The train’s walls shook as the “hooligans” rampaged inside, singing, chanting and cheering. They burst out of the train when the federal police arrived, setting off loud pyrotechnics that sent clouds of red and white smoke up to the clear blue sky.
Germany hosts the Euros from June 14 to July 14, when security would be a priority with hundreds of thousands of fans expected for the 24-country soccer tournament.
“As police we have to be prepared because there’s the potential risk of hooligans or violent people. Today we use the chance to train for those circumstances — how to stop them, how to communicate with them and also how to force them if they’ve done any trouble,” Thuringia Police spokesman Karsten Taschner said. “The main goal of today’s practice is to see how the federal and the state police are cooperating together.”
Altogether about 600 police were involved in Tuesday’s training, including about 100 off-site officers and the 200 police trainees.
The police forbade any filming or photography from inside a sealed-off training area where officers processed the supposed troublemakers. They simulated identifying individuals, recording them, registering them, and issuing stadium and other location bans.
Police in riot gear waited outside the train while the “hooligans” were kept inside. They were taken out one at a time for processing. Officers on both sides of an individual would grip the person by holding their hands in unnatural positions to prevent them escaping.
A police drone flew overhead to record the exercises.
“We use modern techniques, like a super recognizer, special officers with extraordinary skills to detect people we are looking for especially,” Taschner said.
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