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OFF THE FIELD : Police Bar March to Stadium

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Police barred English soccer fans from staging a march to the stadium for today’s England-Egypt World Cup game.

A similar march last week ended in a rock- and bottle-throwing clash with security forces.

Police said they would enforce an Italian law that forbids such processions without 48 hours advance notice.

A British government official said police showed some tolerance in allowing last Saturday’s march. Today police allowed English fans to walk to the stadium only in small groups.

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About 1,000 people took part in the Saturday march that ended when some English fans in the procession stormed a security cordon and stoned police. Police reinforcements using tear gas and truncheons dispersed the marchers and briefly detained between 500 and 600 people.

Meanwhile, a judge in Olbia today dropped charges against 23 English fans of resisting arrest, causing damage, fighting and being drunk in a public place. The charges stemmed from a brawl between the English fans and 200 Italians celebrating Italy’s 2-0 win over Czechoslovakia on Tuesday night.

Judge Pier Carlo Di Gennaro ruled that the battle was an attack by Italians on a smaller group of English soccer supporters.

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