By Matthew Jones
April 5 2003

The Gremlins were among those arrested in Sunderland on Wednesday night as England took on Turkey at the Stadium of Light. Although they hadn't done anything wrong, police thought they would later go on to cause trouble, and lifted them while they could. Police arrested 95 England soccer fans before their team's Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey on Wednesday.

Police charged at England fans outside Sunderland's Stadium of Light minutes before the game after they tried to prevent Turkish supporters entering the ground, the BBC reported.

Northumbria Police spokesman Sue Nicholson said there had been clashes outside the stadium, although she could not confirm the BBC report. She said that three people, including two police officers, had been slightly injured.

Earlier, police entered a pub to arrest 25 fans connected to premier league clubs Newcastle United and Sunderland who they believed were planning trouble.

Northumbria Police superintendent Jim Campbell also confirmed that a contingent of Leeds United fans had been arrested after a stand-off in the city centre. Several skirmishes were also reported, but there were no injuries.

The match had been given high priority, with a maximum of 1,000 police officers on duty to prevent trouble between England fans and an expected 4,500 Turkish supporters.

Reports suggested the Leeds United fans were looking for revenge for the murder of two of their fans before a UEFA Cup tie against Galatasaray in Istanbul in 2000.

'We had reason to believe the Newcastle fans and the Sunderland fans, known as the Gremlins and the Seaburn Casuals, were planning violence,' said Campbell.

'We decided to nip anything in the bud before it actually happened.'

No Turkish fans were involved in trouble, superintendent Campbell said, with many playing football outside the stadium hours before kick-off.

Further trouble afterwards appeared to have been prevented as England recorded a 2-0 victory to go top of the table. Police reported no major incidents as fans made their way home.