German police arrest over 300 English fans

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) -- Police broke up two brief but violent disturbances involving English soccer fans Saturday, arresting more than 300 people the day before England plays Ecuador in a World Cup second-round match.
Following Germany's 2-0 afternoon win over Sweden, English and German fans clashed in a plaza near outdoor viewing screens in this southern German city. German fans were singing in celebration when England fans began throwing plastic chairs and bottles at them, police said.
Five Germans were injured before officers in riot gear separated the two sides, a pile of upended chairs and shards of broken glass between them. Police two or three deep corralled the English fans and waded into the crowd, arresting them one by one. In all, 200 people were arrested, most of them English, police spokesman Stefan Keilbach said.
"We don't know exactly which group which provoked it first," he said, adding that some German fans had been singing "We're going to Berlin without the English fans" -- a reference to the tournament final July 9.
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