THREE Lions fans have been told to yell the code word “Panama” if they’re in danger at England’s Euro 2024 opener against Serbia.
German police are bracing themselves for violence at the curtain raiser clash amid security threats from the dreaded Serbian ultra groups.
The competition organisers today told fans who feel “unsafe” or “threatened” at Sunday’s powder-keg match to say “Wo geht’s nach [Which way to] Panama?” or simply “Panama”.
Any police or staff members who hear the code word have to immediately offer a “place of retreat”, The Telegraph reports.
There will also be a specialist Panama team at the games who are “a multilingual, multi-professional team trained in crisis intervention, non-violent communication and de-escalation”.
However, given the fears surrounding the England-Serbia game, it raises the question of how effective a word will be in the face of potential major disorder.
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Sunday’s fixture has already been labelled the most “high risk” of the tournament as cops fear a repeat of the rioting which has plagued England’s past Euros campaigns.
Meanwhile, police fear 500 Serbian Ultra hooligans plan to trigger mayhem at the game in Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins Arena.
Cops have already banned strong booze and forced 62,000 fans to drink only shandy or low alcohol beer amid concerns of clashes in unsegregated seating inside the stadium.
It is also understood British police “spotters” and plain-clothed officers will also be on hand to watch England fans at every match.
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Germany’s interior minister Nancy Faeser revealed hundreds of foreign cops have been dispatched to help with the mega event and their focus will be “above all on the threat of Islamist terrorism”.
It comes as The Sun spoke to security expert Will Geddes, who works with Premier League clubs, who revealed thousands of armed cops will be present at each match to shield against any possible attacks.
The UEFA Euro 2024 championship presents a “wide spectrum of potential risks and issues” amid a “very high level of risk” from ISIS, he warned.
In terms of hooligans, German police are most worried about hard core Serb Ultras including many who support Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin.
One Serbian fan told The Sun yesterday: “On the pitch you will probably win but off the pitch it’s not a contest. We aren’t afraid of anyone.
“We learned everything we know from the Italians and the English but they are no match for strong Serbian men.”
Serbian ultra groups, such as Headhunters and Gravediggers, are among the most feared football fans in Europe.
Are the Serbs the most notorious football fans?
FROM pitch raids to mass brawls and death threats, Serbian hooligans are known to wreak absolute havoc and pure carnage at football games.
Die-hard groups of hooligans are intertwined with football in Serbia – and they are known for ruthlessly attacking players on the pitch and storming opposition stalls when the match turns against them.
Hooligan firms in the Balkan state have chilling names such as The Gravediggers, Headhunters, Zulu Warriors, and the Red Devils.
Tracing their lineage back to the Balkan war of the 1990s, Serb football hooligans are renowned for their tough-as-nails attitude and love of violence.
In the past, the Ultras have killed rival fans – including a Toulouse supporter in 2009 who was beaten to death with iron bars and bicycle chains.
And one of their most vicious leaders is known as ‘Ivan the Terrible’.
In 2012, Ivan – who has been linked to Serbian far-right paramilitaries – forced a Euros qualifying match between Serbia and Italy in Genoa to be abandoned after trying to attack rival fans and police.
He rallied supporters to lob live flares and other pyrotechnics onto the pitch as players warmed up and ordered them to break down barriers separating them from Italian fans while taunting police.
At the Euro 2016 qualifier between Serbia and Albania another battle kicked off in the stands.
Serb supporters were recorded chanting “Kill the Albanians” and wore T-shirts of Serbian war crimes general Ratko Mladic in a heated snub to two ethnic Albanians in the Swiss squad.
These horror incidents have resulted in several fines and bans being imposed on the Serbian national side with the latest coming one-year-ago.
Uefa ordered them to play a 2024 European Championship qualifier in front of an empty stadium last year due to racist chants at their previous game against Montenegro.
Their most notorious soccer savage has been named as Ivan ‘the Terrible’ Bogdanov – a tattooed hardman known to have terrorised players.
Ahead of a Euros 2012 qualifier in Genoa, Italy, Serbian fans attacked their own team’s bus, with Bogdanov among those who made it inside.
He was alleged to have confronted goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovicfor for committing the unforgivable crime of switching from Bogdanov’s team, Red Star Belgrade to rival club Partizan.
The game was later abandoned due to the trouble, Italy awarded a 3-0 win and Bogdanov – branded with his new nickname ‘the Beast of Genoa’ – jailed for his role in the riot.
ENGLAND’S PAST TOURNAMENT CHAOS
Travelling Three Lions supporters have forged a poor reputation for their behaviour overseas through the years.
However, England fans have been the target of several international assaults in the past both at club level and for national fans.
The 2016 Euros in France was viewed as a major failure for England both on the pitch and off it due to fan violence.
Before the tournament had even begun, fighting broke out between England fans and rival supporters in Marseille with cops being forced to tear gas local youths.
And after England drew with Russia on June 11, major clashes broke out on the streets of the French city between the two countries.
Over 100 Three Lions fans were left “walking wounded” with some in a critical condition after barbaric attacks that saw Russian thugs stalk drunken fans outside of pubs and bars.
The Russian team was given a suspended disqualification as a team and fined €150,000 (£126,000).
The hooligans were branded “hyper-rapid and hyper-violent” by the chief prosecutor in Marseille for their heinous planned assaults eight years ago.
More violence then erupted between English and Russian fans in Lille a few days later.
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At least 40 fans were reportedly arrested, 50 Russians deported and dozens left injured after the clashes.
One was even left in a critical condition in the hospital following a Russian ambush.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
