England and Serbia fans clash prior to Euros match

The first weekend of Euro 2024 has been marred by violence, with people left bloodied after clashes broke out between fans of England and Serbia just hours before the teams’ opening game.

- MARYAM ZAKIR-HUSSAIN AND HOLLY EVANS

Tables were thrown and glasses smashed during the carnage outside the Aleppo bar in the city of Gelsenkirchen. One football supporter was pictured with blood streaming down his face.

It came just hours after a shooting in Hamburg that saw a man taken to hospital. He was shot by police after he threatened officers with a pick axe and an incendiary device. The incident occurred on the sidelines of a fan parade in the St Pauli district, ahead of Poland’s game against the Netherlands in their first match of the tournament.

Later, Serbia fans were attacked with projectiles as 200 German riot police rushed to the scene to break up the large-scale brawl, which one witness described as “premeditated”.

One English fan who saw the incident said a group of men in balaclavas “ran around the corner and started throwing bottles”. “I ran away, and the next thing I saw was the tables being smashed and chairs being thrown,” the fan, who gave his name as Larry, added. One man, reportedly from Birmingham, sustained a head wound during the fight, according to The Sunday Mirror.

The incidents came ahead of the Three Lions’ opening fixture against Serbia in Group C. Another eyewitness told