Police chief and former soccer referee John Carr promised to deal swiftly with troublemakers during Euro 2000, writes Andrew Ffrench.

As England prepare for their first game of the tournament against Portugal tonight, Supt Carr, head of Oxford police operations, issued a warning that thugs and vandals would not be tolerated. In the run-up to the tournament, 24 pubs in the city, which are showing live games on giant screens, have been contacted. A Pubwatch scheme is being operated, with police and landlords staying in touch by electronic pagers to provide an early warning of trouble. Extra police officers will be on alert during England games, particularly Saturday's match against arch-rivals Germany. Supt Carr said: "In the past, during major football tournaments, the vast majority of fans have behaved themselves and we hope that this is the case this time round. We certainly don't want to stop fans enjoying themselves. "We can understand fans' frustrations if their team loses, but when this is channelled into violence we will deal with it appropriately for the benefit of the community."

Language schools in Oxford have also been contacted in the run-up to the tournament to warn foreign students to recognise "the differences between cultures". Supt Carr said intelligence-gathering in Oxford and the surrounding area would take place throughout Euro 2000, with information being passed to the city's football liaison officer, Pc Paul Phillips, who has travelled to Belgium and Holland.

Supt Carr said: "If we receive information that is useful to him we will make contact, and vice-versa."