FOOTBALL : Belgians deport 170 fans on Chelsea trip

Belgian police deported 170 Chelsea supporters from Belgium last night, following disturbances before today's European Cup-Winners' Cup match here and the local authorities have warned that other fans would face the same fate if they arrived without tickets.

Those expelled are accused of loutishness, drunkenness and in some cases burglary. One supporter was taken to hospital with a cut ear after fighting broke out here on Sunday. In Ostend 11 drunken fans wrecked a caf and 80 who had just arrived on the Ramsgate ferry were turned back when they were found not to possess match tickets.

It is a sign of how seriously the Belgians are taking the potential for violence in the first game abroad by an English side since the hooliganism in Dublin two weeks ago. "It is an extreme measure [to deport well-behaved fans who have no ticket] but it shows how concerned the Interior Minister is," Roger de Bree, the Chief Commissioner of Bruges police, said.

Nobody has been charged. "Our system is different to yours and to charge the fans with anything would take weeks and weeks before they came to court," De Bree said.

The medieval city, known as the Venice of the North because of its canals, has been put on its guard after the shameful scenes in Dublin during England's game with the Republic of Ireland. Last night some bars, restaurants and shops closed to prevent trouble.

A little more than 2,000 supporters in the official Chelsea party have arrived for the tie but the Belgian police have been alarmed at reports that 1,700 have got their tickets from the host club. "We deplore the sale of tickets has not been carried out according to Uefa rules which says that there should be strict segregation," the Chelsea managing director, Colin Hutchinson, said. "Those who have got tickets from other sources than our club are a threat to segregation. It is a matter for Club Bruges and the Belgian police whether they let them stay or eject them."

Glenn Hoddle, the Chelsea manager, said: "Everyone in football was hoping hooliganism had gone away, and the club has done everything it can - no more and no less than we did for the trips to the Czech Republic and Austria. I have appealed to the fans to go only if they have a ticket, enjoy the game and make sure we all come back with our heads held high."

Fifty plain-clothed English police have also made the journey and will help an estimated 500 Belgian police identify potential trouble makers.

The Football Association is closely monitoring events. "We have an observer already in Bruges and we will want to make sure the basic principles of crowd control are enforced," a spokesman, Mike Parry, said.

A scare about forged tickets has been countered by Chelsea's opponents, who have issued new coloured passes for a particular area of the Olympiastadion.

Heavy rain has actually put the fixture in doubt, with the possibility of a postponement for 24 hours. But knowing that they do not want to entertain their English guests for a moment longer than is necessary, the city is doing all it can to ensure it goes ahead. "We want the game played, everyone wants the game played, the Embassy, the Minister, everybody," a police spokesman said.