England fans allowed to buy full-strength beer during Slovakia game

England supporters will be able to purchase full-strength beer at their round-of-16 game versus Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen, German police said Friday, after drinks were watered down at the Three Lions' previous fixture in the city.

Travelling fans were served a half-strength "light beer" of 2.5% for England's first game of Euro 2024 against Serbia at the Veltins Arena.

The game, which England won 1-0 thanks to a Jude Bellingham header, was deemed "high risk" by authorities concerned about fan behaviour.

But despite some scuffles between opposing sets of fans in the city centre ahead of the game, the fixture passed largely without incident.

Gelsenkirchen police said they carried out an "ongoing risk assessment" of the games together with the tournament organiser UEFA.

Unlike the Serbia game, Sunday's clash between England and Slovakia was however not deemed to be high risk, police said.

"It was therefore decided there will be full-strength beer in the stadium on Sunday," they said.

Police told AFP before the England-Serbia match that the decision had been made for security reasons and because "the British are used" to weaker beer than the pints usually served Germany.

Neither law enforcement nor UEFA took "light-hearted decisions" about security measures, police chief Peter Both said in the statement.

The lifting of the alcohol cap was not "at the urging of lobbying organisations," he added.

Supporters' groups had expressed anger over the organisation of the first game in Gelsenkirchen, which saw fans struggle to leave the host city.

Scenes of supporters still waiting for trains at the main station in Gelsenkirchen three hours after the end of the game were "simply ridiculous," the Free Lions group said in a statement after the game.

The group urged an urgent review of the organisation in Gelsenkirchen ahead of a possible second fixture in the city, if England won their group.

Gareth Southgate's team duly obliged on the pitch, sealing first place despite two lacklustre draws against Denmark and Slovenia.