WATCH: Fans clash in Gelsenkirchen ahead of England vs Serbia UEFA Euro 2024 encounter

England will be starting their UEFA Euro 2024 campaign on Sunday night against Serbia. The Three Lions are favourites to win the tournament and Gareth Southgate's star-studded side was the finalist of the previous edition of the tournament when they lost to Italy in the penalties at Wembley Stadium. The fans are bubbling up for their team to start their campaign, the English fans are known to be cunning and always create problems everywhere they go. 

A similar incident happened right ahead of the first game between the sides. Violence has broken out between England and Serbia supporters in central Gelsenkirchen, the site of the two teams' Euro 2024 match. Several fans threw bottles at others before collapsing chairs and tables. One group of supporters then chased the other group down the street, while riot police followed. 

Dozens of riot police officers intervened, and 22 vans were spotted driving towards the side of the city closest to the train station. Previously also an axe-wielding man in Hamburg who had threatened police was shot in the leg before the Poland vs Netherlands game. British police "spotters" saw a bunch of hooligans, whose nationality has not been established, heading towards a bar where roughly 30 Serbia fans were drinking five hours before England's first game.

Here's the video

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England vs. Serbia in Germany... 👊 pic.twitter.com/acKhFkvt1F

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) June 16, 2024

We are aware of an issue in Gelsenkirchen: UK Football Policing United

UK Football Policing United said in a statement: “We are aware of an issue in Gelsenkirchen ahead of the England v Serbia match. Our German colleagues have made a number of arrests of what we currently believe to be Serbian supporters. At this stage we do not believe that any UK nationals have been arrested but enquiries are ongoing. 

“Our officers are at the location speaking to German colleagues. Our investigation team is now reviewing footage of the incident and if any UK nationals have been involved, football banning orders will be sought.” The match has been defined as "high risk" due to the reputations of the two fanbases, with police warning last week that up to 500 Serbian hooligans bent on violence may attempt to cause problems.