Belgium

The British media has backed European football's governing body which has threatened to expel England from the Euro 2000 championship if English fans become involved in any more hooliganism.

English soccer chiefs were planning to hold an urgent meeting with European governing body UEFA today in a bid to stop a new generation of hooligans from destroying their Euro 2000 campaign and seriously undermining their 2006 World Cup bid.

German border police have stopped 36 known troublemakers from travelling to Euro2000 since last week and had detained 116 others wanted for different crimes.

Police fired tear gas, launched baton charges and arrested dozens of Belgian soccer fans in central Brussels late on Saturday after the opening game of the Euro 2000 championships.

Zetters Group and 365 Corp have jointly created an interactive sports pool betting Website for Euro 2000 on Thursday, just weeks after calling off talks to form an online bookmaker.

The European Commission has approved Euro 2000's ticket sales policy, just two days before the tournament kicks off in Brussels.

NBA fans in more than 750 million households around the world will be able to tune into the NBA Finals 2000 featuring the Los Angeles Lakers and the Indiana Pacers.

If their faces don't fit, fans will be arrested on the spot at Euro 2000 but organisers believe a zero tolerance policy will ensure a trouble-free tournament.

A Belgian court will shortly issue its ruling on a request to ban Yugoslavia from the Euro 2000 soccer tournament, a court official told Reuters.

Euro 2000 organisers say they are concerned at the scale of demand for tickets on the black market but insist it will not undermine their strict security plans.

Euro 2000 organisers have rejected outright suggestions from FIFA chief Sepp Blatter that the England-Germany clash on June 17 should be moved from the stadium in Charleroi for safety reasons.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said a venue switch for the Euro 2000 match between England and Germany from the small Belgian stadium of Charleroi should be considered to minimise the risk of crowd trouble.

Organisers of the Euro 2000 soccer championship are hastily preparing a Dutch version of their website after some irate Dutch speakers complained they were not being catered for.

Online auction site QXL.com have taken immediate steps to ensure black-market tickets for this month?s Euro 2000 tournament are not sold on its site.

British Home Secretary Jack Straw has said a move by Belgium and the Netherlands to reimpose border controls to prevent trouble at the Euro 2000 soccer tournament was a good idea.

A final allotment of 48,000 Euro 2000 tickets will go on sale today, although they are available only to supporters in Belgium and the Netherlands.