Have the English changed their reputation?

The first charge across a Dortmund city square by the riot police who had been watching over hundreds of drinking England fans was followed by another straight afterwards.

As this second charge saw the same 20 or so officers effectively retrace their steps back across the square before heading for a different exit, the response from the watching masses was predictable. “You don’t know what you’re doing,” sang the amused crowd.

A minute or so later, they were back in greater numbers. And this time as the police set off like a fire engine haring towards a big blaze, it was clear from the roar in the distance and the sound of breaking glass that trouble had broken out.

Our group, with dozens of years of following England under their belts, looked at each other, all seemingly with the same thought. What had largely been a peaceful and fun Euro 2024 for England was about to be shattered by whatever violence was unfolding around the corner.

A couple of minutes passed before one of our lot returned. He’d disappeared to see what was happening.

“Turns out it was Orange on Orange,” said our eye-witness, referencing the colour worn by almost every member of the 110,000-strong Netherlands fans who descended on Dortmund for Wednesday’s semi-final. “Utrecht fighting with Feyenoord. Not an Englishman in sight!”

Netherlands and England fans interacting before Wednesday’s game (Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images)

We couldn’t help but laugh. Not so long ago, things would no doubt have been very different. The night before I arrived in Germany to watch England take on Ecuador at the 2006 World Cup, 122 England fans were arrested in skirmishes around Stuttgart.

But that was merely a prelude to the Saturday night’s events, as mounted police were brought in to separate missile-throwing fans in the central square. Three hundred and seventy-eight fans, the vast majority English, were arrested under German police powers to prevent further trouble following minor outbreaks of disorder. Most were released without charge the following day, albeit with the proviso they were unable to stay in the city for the match.

The Stuttgart disorder happily proved a one-off in 2006. Just a couple of weeks later, England would be named ‘Fans of the Tournament’ and leave with praise ringing in their ears. “The English fans are the world champions of partying,” said World Cup spokesman Gerd Graus.

There’s been plenty of competition for the crown. The Dutch brought incredible colour over the past month. Scotland’s Tartan Army lived up to their ‘No Scotland, No Party’ mantra. The passion and fervour of Georgia and Romania won’t be forgotten in a hurry, either.

However, should England be crowned ‘Fans of the Tournament’ for the second time in 18 years on German soil, surely few eyebrows will be raised.

“The support England have received across Germany has been fantastic,” says Thomas Concannon, spokesperson for the Football Supporters Association (FSA), whose staff and members have been on the ground at Euro 2024. “Concerns about disorder from the usual media sources have proved unfounded as travelling fans both young and old have enjoyed themselves, interacting positively with both our hosts and supporters from other visiting nations.

“It is time to start celebrating those who give up their hard-earned money to follow England away, and dispel the myths of the disorder not seen for nearly 25 years.”

England’s improved behaviour on their travels since the dark days of the 1980s and 1990s is perhaps best illustrated by arrest figures for the big tournaments over the past decade.

In Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, there were none. Four years earlier, just three England fans were arrested in Russia, while in France for Euro 2016, it was 46. A total of 24 (including 13 for ticket touting) were arrested at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

England fans at the 2006 World Cup (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Contrast those relatively small figures with the near-500 arrested in Stuttgart ahead of the 2006 World Cup clash against Ecuador.

Germany is much easier to reach and more affordable compared to the last three World Cups. Euro 2024 was always going to be a big test of this improved behaviour due to the likelihood that huge numbers would travel.

There were also concerns among the authorities as to how younger fans — and particularly those attending their first tournament abroad (Euro 2020 was effectively a London-based tournament for England with travel restricted by the Covid-19 pandemic) — might behave.

With just Sunday’s final against Spain to come, however, that test has so far been passed with flying colours. There has been the odd skirmish, such as before the opening group game against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen. On Wednesday, a Dortmund bar came under attack by Dutch hooligans, with the intention seemingly being to steal a St George flag.

That’s not to say everything has been perfect from an English perspective. Far from it. The tiresome ‘Ten German Bombers’ has unfortunately had more than a few airings, the intention behind a song that mocks German casualties in the Second World War being to provoke a response from the locals.

Other negatives include widespread cocaine use, mainly among the younger element.

In many ways, Wednesday’s semi-final in Dortmund summed up the tournament as a whole. An estimated 150,000 football fans in one city — England were outnumbered more than four to one, according to the local authorities — and yet the good humour and all-round bonhomie between the two sides was the abiding memory.

Nowhere was this more apparent than on the long pre-match walk to the stadium, with fans in pubs lining the route throwing nothing more potent at each other than banter.

“There’ll be no f****** orange in Berlin,” sang the English, as the equally confident Dutch responded with a reworking of the chorus to ‘Three Lions’ that pointed towards their opponents “going home” that night.

All this will no doubt have come as a shock to the betting company who sent out a pre-tournament press release predicting England would have the most arrests. They even offered odds on Southgate’s team being thrown out of Euro 2024 for hooliganism.

Such lazy stereotypes perhaps explain why England fans were subjected to booze restrictions in their opening fixture against Serbia, a game judged to be “high-risk” by the Gelsenkirchen police. Only low-alcohol beer was served and all drinks had to be consumed on the concourse, away from sight of the pitch.

Thankfully, common sense reigned ahead of the final group game, meaning anyone needing to calm their nerves during the quarter-final penalty-shootout win over Switzerland could do so with a plastic pint in hand.

England fans celebrate beating Switzerland on penalties (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

In many ways, the changing profile of England’s travelling support reflects previous trends at home that helped make violence at domestic grounds a much rarer occurrence.

This includes an older, more middle-class and affluent crowd. Tickets are not cheap, England’s official 10,295 allocation for Sunday’s Berlin final ranges from €95 to €1,000. There is also better stewarding and facilities, via the move to all-seater stadia that followed the Hillsborough disaster.

There have been more women and children at Euro 2024 than in previous tournaments. The crowd is still predominantly white but it is more diverse. Banning orders — whereby passports have to be handed in before any England fixture abroad — have also been used to keep the hooligans away, while the Football Association insist tickets are only sold through the official supporters travel club. All members were reminded before the tournament of the need to act as “ambassadors for the England team”.

Peter Sherwood from Stoke is among the most loyal bracket of England fans, travelling to every home and away game.

“There’s certainly been a different atmosphere compared to going back what is quite a lot of years now,” he says. “We’ve met lots of opposition fans and everyone has had a great time. It’s the same with the usual old faces we’ve got to know over the years. It has been really good-natured.”

Asked what possibly lays behind this shift in behaviour, he adds: “The demographic of the fanbase has changed. More women and children are going over for a tournament, which never used to be the case. It was just (hooligan) firms going over back in the day.

“Policing has got a lot better, too, in the main. I think the English police have really helped out here. They seem to be working closely with the Germans.

“Tickets are computerised, too, along with membership. It (the official supporters club) is the only way of guaranteeing a ticket and any misbehaviour means the FA cancel your membership. All these things combine to explain why things have changed.”

Gone are the days when England fans’ fearsome reputation meant effectively being quarantined away from the population, as happened in 1990 when Bobby Robson’s side were confined to the island of Sardinia for the World Cup group stage.

Now, there seems an acceptance that the English can bring as much to the party as anyone else. As all roads lead to Berlin and a possible first European Championship success, that really is something to celebrate, regardless of how Sunday’s final pans out.

(Top photo: Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images)