THE HAGUE: Fewer hooligans will travel to Euro 2020 because of Covid restrictions but they will be more difficult to trace, European police warned Thursday as they unveiled a special operations hub in the Netherlands.
Officers from each of the 24 nations playing in the tournament across 11 countries will spend the next month monitoring threats from the control room at the EU鈥檚 police agency Europol in The Hague.
Beneath giant screens, with desks arranged according to their countries鈥� Euro 2020 groups, the 40 or so officers will be able to quickly share information and prevent trouble.
鈥淯ntil now it鈥檚 still quiet at the front, but we are alert,鈥� Max Daniel, the senior Dutch police officer in charge of the operations center, told a press conference at Europol.
鈥淏ecause of the Covid rules we expect not so high a number of supporters at all, so I think the number of hooligans will be limited as well,鈥� he added.
鈥淏ut still it鈥檚 very difficult for us because of the Covid rules. Most of them will travel by car, and there will be a lot more movements... because of the fact that we play in several countries.鈥�
Europol chief Catherine De Bolle said this year鈥檚 tournament was a security challenge of 鈥渦nprecedented complexity.鈥�
鈥淭he operations center is prepared to react to any criminal threat which may endanger the smooth flow of the competition,鈥� De Bolle added.
Europol said it would also be monitoring other types of threats and crime during the tournament, including cybercrime and match-fixing and even fake Covid travel certificates.
Enforcing local Covid regulations will remain the responsibility of host nations.
But if there was 鈥渟pecial information about groups that are willing to organize parties around stadiums we will give them information,鈥� said Dutch policeman Daniel.
Inside the control room, set up in a large auditorium inside Europol鈥檚 granite-grey HQ, officers from each country sit at desks monitoring and collating information.
A total of 40 officers will work in a shift system covering all the match days and also being on call during the night.
鈥淥f course the focus is on the Covid-19 issues. But we mustn鈥檛 forget the fact that we still have to face the hooliganism,鈥� said Romanian police officer Adrian Dinca, one of the coordinators.
鈥淚t has not disappeared, it is still there.鈥�
Britain is one of the countries running the center along with Romania and the Netherlands, despite its departure from the EU and therefore from Europol.
The three UK home nations of England, Scotland and Wales are all taking part in the tournament, and the final is at London鈥檚 Wembley stadium on July 11.
鈥淏rexit has no impact whatsoever on the really important business that we do with other countries,鈥� said Adrian Roberts of the UK Football Policing Unit.
鈥淚f we were to lose that overnight because of the perception that Brexit means we can no longer share intelligence and information, we鈥檇 be taking a lot of steps backwards.鈥�
To prevent trouble, the hub will work with police 鈥渟potters鈥� in each of the countries who gain intelligence on hooligans, officials said.
If trouble kicks off, officers will set up a 鈥渃risis room鈥� with the countries involved.
But which team do the police officers think will win the tournament?
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have intelligence on that yet!鈥� said Dinca.